LAOTZU'S TAO AND WU WEI

/-

TRANSUTION BY

DWIGHT GODDARD

WU WEI
AN INTERPRETATION BY

HENRI BOREL
TRANSLATED BY

M. E. REYNOLDS

NEW YORK

BRENTANO'S
PUBLISHERS

Digitized by

Coogle

COPY]UGBT, 1919, BY
JlIUtNTANO'S

Digitized by

Coogle

INTRODUCTION

LOVE LAOTZUI That is the reason I

offer another interpretative translation, and
try to print and bind it attractively. I want
you to appreciate this wise and kindly old man,
and come to love him. He was perhaps the first
of scholars (6th century B.C.) to have a vision
of spiritual reality, and he tried so hard to explain
it to others, only, in the end, to wander away
into the Great Unknown in pathetic discouragement. Everything was against him; his friends
misunderstood him; others made fun of him.
Even the written characters which he must
use to preserve his thought conspired against
him. They were only five thousand in all, and
were ill adapted to express mystical and abstract
ideas. When these characters are translated
accurately, the translation is necessarily awkward and obscure. 8inologues have unintentionally done him an injustice by their very
scholarship. I have tried to peer through the
clumsy characters into his heart and prayed
that love for him would make me wise to understand aright.
I hate scholarship that would deny his existence, or arrogant erudition that says patronizingly, "Oh, yes, there doubtless was some one
who wrote some of the characteristic sonnets,
1

Digitized by

Coogle. .

INTRODUCTION

but most of them are an accumulation through

the centuries of verses that have similar structure,
and all have been changed and amended until
it is better to call the book a collection of aphor-

lSIIlS.

"

Shame on scholarship when, sharing the visions

of the illuminati, they deride them!
There are three great facts in China to-day
that vouch for Laotzu. First, the presence of
Tfwism, which was suggested by his teachings,
not founded upon them. This is explained
by the inability of the scholars, who immediately followed him, to understand and appreciate the spirituality of his teachings. Second,
Confucian dislike for Laotzian ideas, which is
explained by their opposition to Confucian ethics.
Third, and the greatest fact of all, is the characteristic traits of Chinese nature, namely, passivity, submissiveness and moral concern, all of
which find an adequate cause and source in the
teachings of Laotzu.
An interesting fact in regard to the thought of
Laotzu is this. Although for two thousand years
he has been misunderstood and derided, to-day
the very best of scientific and philosophic thought,
which gathers about what is known as Vitalism,
is in full accord with Laotzu's idea of the Tao.
Every reference that is made to-day to a CQSIIlic
Urge, Vital Impulse, and Creative Principle
can be said of the Tao. Everything that can
be said of Plato's Ideas and Forms and of Cosmic
Love as being the creative expression of God can

Digitized by

Coogle

INTRODUCTION

be said of the Tao. When Christian scholars

came to translate the Logos of St. John, they
were satisfied to use the word "Tao."
It is true that Laotzu's conception of the Tao
was limited to a conception of a universal, creative principle. He apparently had no conception of personality, which the Christians
ascribe to God, in connection with it, but he
ascribed so much of wisdom and benevolence
to it that his conception fell little short of personality. To Laotzu, the Tao is the universal
and eternal principle which forms and condi- tions everything; it is that intangible cosmic
influence which harmonilJes all things and brings
them to fruition; it is the norm and standard of
truth and morality Laotzu did more than
entertain an intelligent opinion of Tao as a
creative principle; he had a devout and religious
sentiment towards it: "He loved the Tao as a
son cherishes and reveres his mother."
There are three key words in the thought of
Laotzu: Tao, Teh, and Wu Wei. They are
all difficult to translate. The simple meaning
of Tao is "way," but it also has a wide variety
of other meanings Dr. Paul Carns translates it,
"Reason," but apologizes for so doing. If forced
to offer a translation we would suggest Creative
Principle, but much prefer to leave it untranslated.
The character, "Teh," is usually translated
"virtue." This is correct as a mere translation
of the character, but is in no sense adequate

Digitized by

Coogle

INTRODUCTION

to the content of the thought in Laotzu's mind.

To him, Teh meant precisely what is meant in
the account of the healing of the woman who
touched the hem of Jesus' robe: "Jesus w~
conscious that mrf:ue- had passed from him."
Teh includes the meaning of vitality, of virility,
of beauty and the harmony that we think
of as that part of life that is abounding and
joyous. The third word is the negative expression, "Wu Wei." Translated, this means
"not acting," or "non-assertion." When La-otzu urges men to U wu wei," he is not urging
them to laziness or asceticism. He means that
all men are to cherish that wise humility and
diffidence and selflessness which comes from a
consciousness that the Tao is infinitely wise
.and good, and that the part of human wisdom
is to hold one's self in such a restrained and
receptive manner that the Tao may find one
a suitable and conforming channel for its purpose. The title of Laotzu's book, Tao Teh
King, is carelessly translated, The Way of Virtue
Classic, or The Way and Virtue Classic. This
is very inadequate. The Vitality of the Tao
is very much betteI'.
Most commentators think that Laotzu's teachings fit in especially well with Buddhist philosophy This conclusion is arrived at by the common interpretation of wu wei as submission
that will logically end.!1\.ab80rpti~n of the spirit
in Tao as Nirvana?~ understanding of
wu wei, which Henri Borel shares in a meas-

Digitized by

Coogle

INTRODUCTION

me, is, we believe, incorrect, inasmuch as Laotzu

consistently teaches a finding of life rather than
a losing of it. Laotzu's conception of Tao as the
underived Source of all things, finding expression
through spiritual Teh in universal creative activityj
is very close to Plato's doctrine of the good as the
One ineffable Source of all things, whose Ideas and
Forms of Goodness, Truth and Beauty radiated
outward as spiritual logoi in creative activity
through Spirit, Soul and Nature to the farthest
confines of matter.
While it is true that Laotzu's teachings would
find little in common with the Old Testament
~'1/dll. anthropomorphic autocracy, and would find almost
nothing in common with the modern Ritschlean
system of ethical idealism which has for its basis a
naturalistic evolution of human society by means
of philanthropy, laws, cultural civilizations, and
human governments backed by force of arms. nevertheless his teachings are entirely in harmony with
that Christian philosophy of the Logos, which is a
heritage from the Greeks, through Plato, Philo,
St. Paul, Plotinus, and Augustine, and which is
the basis of the mystical faith of the Christian
saints of all ages. While Laotzu would find little
in common with the busy, impertinent activities
of so-called Christian statesman building by
statecraft and war, he would find much in common with Apostolic Christianity which held
itself aloof from current politics and refused
to enter the army, content to live simply, quietly,
full of faith and humble benevolence.

Digitized by

Coogle

INTRODUCTION

And most of all would he find himself in sympathy with the teacher of Nazareth. At almost
every Sonnet, one thinks of some corresponding
expression of Jesus, who had a very similar
conception of God, but who recognized in Him
that personal element of Love which made God
not only Creative Principle but Heavenly Father.
Laotzu's vision of the virile harmony, goodness,
and Spirituality of the Tao was what Jesus saw as
the Fatherhood of God, self-expressing his lovenature endlessly in all creative effort, and, through
universal intuition, endlessly drawing his creation
back to himself in grateful and humble affection.
Laotzu saw in a glass darkly what Jesus saw face
to face in all his glory, the Divine Tao, God
as creative and redemptive Love.
As you read these verses, forget the words and
phrases, poor material and poor workmanship
at best, look through them for the soul of Laotzu.
It is there revealed, but so imperfectly that it
is only an apparition of a soul. But if by it,
vague as it is, you come to love Laotzu, you will
catch beyond him fleeting glimpses of the splendid visions that so possessed his soul, visions
of Infinite Goodness, Humility and Beauty radiating from the Heart of creation.
DwIGHT GODDARD.

Digitized by

Coogle

ALL WE KNOW ABOUT LAOTZU

ZE MA-CH'IEN (136-85 B.C.) wrote that

Laotzu was born of the Li family of Ch'ujen Village, Li County, K'u Province, Ch'u
State. His proper name was Err, his official
name was Poh-yang, his posthumous title was
Yueh-tan. He held the position of custodian
of the secret archives of the State of Cheu.
Confucius went to Cheu to consult Laotzu
about certain ceremonials; Laotzu told him:
"The bones of these sages, concerning whom
you inquire, have long since decayed, only their
teachings remain. If a superior man is understood by his age, he rises to honor, but not being
understood, his name is like a vagrant seed blown
about by the wind. I have heard it said that
a good merchant conceals his treasures, as though
his warehouses were empty. The sage of highest
worth assumes a countenance and outward mien
as though he were stupid. Put aside your
haughty airs, your many needs, affected robes
and exaggerated importance. These add no
real value to your person. That is my advice
to you, and it is all I have to offer."
Confucius departed and when he later described to his students his visit to Laotzu, he said:
"I understand about the" habits of birds, how

.'

Digitized by

Coogle

ALL WE KNOW ABOUT LAOTZU

they can fly; how fish can swim; and Anjmals

run. For the running we C8.n make snares,
for the swimming we can make nets, for the
flying we can make arrows. ]3.utfor the dragon,
I cannot know how he ascends on the winds
and clouds to heaven. I have just seen Laotzu.
Can it be said., he is as difficult to understand
as the dragon? He teaches the vitality of Tao.
His doctrine appears to lead one to aspire after
self-effacement and obsClirity."
Laotzu lived in Cheu for a long time; he
prophesied the decay of that state and in consequence was obliged to depart, and went to
the frontier. The officer at the border post
was Yin-hi, who said to Laotzu, "H you are
going to leave us, will you not write a book
by which we may remember you?" Thereupon
Laotzu wrote a book of sonnets in two parts,
comprising in all about five thousand characters.
In this book he discussed his conception of the
Vitality of the Tao. He left this book with
the soldier, and departed, no one knows whither.

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH KING

ItlzedbyG

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH KING

I
WHAT IS TIm TAO

The Tao that can be understood cannot be

the primal, or cosmic, Tao, just as an idea that
can be expressed in words cannot be the infinite
idea.
And yet this ineffable Tao was the source of
aU spirit and matter,.,and being expressed was the
mother of aU created things.
Therefore not to desire the things of sense is
to know the freedom of spirituality; and to desire
is to learn the limitation of matter. These two
things spirit and matter, so different in nature,
have the same origin. This unity of origin is
the mystery of mysteries, but it is the gateway to
spirituality.
II
SELF-DEVELOPMENT

When every one recognizes beauty to be only

a masquerade, then it is simply ugliness. In the
same way goodness, if it is not sincere, is not
goodness. So existence and non-existence are .
incompatible. The difficult and easy are mutuallyopposites. Just as the long and the short,
11
Digitized by

Coogle

12

WU WEI

the high and the low, the loud and soft, the
before and the behind, are all opposites and
each reveals the other.
Therefore the wise man is not conspicuous in
his affairs or given to much talking. Though
troubles arise he is not irritated. He produces
but does not own; he acts but claims no merit;
he builds bu~ does not dwell therein; and because
he does not dwell therein he never departs.
In
QUIETING PEOPLE

Neglecting to praise the worthy deters people

from emulating them; just as not prizing rare
treasures deters a man from becoming a thief;.
or ignoring the things which awaken desire keeps
the heart at rest.
Therefore the wise ruler does not suggest
unnecessary things, but seeks to satisfy the minds
of his people. He seeks to allay appetites but
strengthen bones. He ever tries by keeping
people in ignorance to keep them satisfied and
those who have knowledge he restrains from
evil. If he, himself, practices restraint then every
thing is ill quietness.
IV
TAO, WITHOUT ORIGIN

The Tao appears to be emptiness but it is never

exhausted. Oh, it is profound I It appears to
have preceded everything. It dulls its own

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH KING

13

sharpness, unravels its own fetters, softens its

own brightness, identifies itself with its own
dust.
Oh, it is tranquil! It appears infinite; I do not
know from what it proceeds. It even appears
to be antecedent to the Lord.

v
IMPARTIALITY

Heaven and earth are not like humans, they

are impartial. They regard all things as insignificant, as though they were playthings made
of straw. The wise man is also impartial. To
him all men are alike and unimportant. The
space between heaven and earth is like a bellows,
it is empty but does not collapse; it moves and
more and more issues. A gossip is soon empty,it is doubtful if he can be impartial.
VI
THE INFINITUDE OF CREATIVE EFFORT

The Spirit of the perennial spring is said to be

immortal, she is called the Mysterious One.
The Mysterious One is typical of the source of
heaven and earth. It is continually and endlessly issuing and without effort.
VII

HUMILITY

Heaven is eternal, earth is lasting. The reason

DY heaven and earth are eternal and lasting is

Digitized by

Coogle

14

WU WEI

because they do not live for themselves; that

is the reason they will ever endure.
Therefore the wise man will keep his personality out of sight and because of so doing he
will become notable. He subordinates his personalityand therefore it is preserved.
Is it not because he is disinterested, that his
own interests are conserved?
VIll

THE NATURE OF GOODNESS .

True goodness is like water, in that it benefits

everything and harms nothing. Like water it
ever seeks the lowest place, the place that all
others avoid. It is closely kin to the Tao.
For a dwelling it chooses the quiet meadow;
for a heart the circling eddy. In generosity it
is kind; in speech it is sincere; in authority it
is order; in affairs it is ability; in movement it is
rhythm.
Inasmuch as it is always peaceable it is never
rebuked.
IX

MODERATION

Continuing to fill a pail after it is full the water

will be wasted. Continuing to grind an axe
after it is sharp will soon wear it away.
Who can protect a public hall crowded with
gold and jewels? The pride of wealth and position brings about their own misfortune. To win

Digitized by

Coogle

15

TAO TEH KING

true merit, to preserve just fame, the personality

must be retiring. This is the heavenly Tao.
X

WHAT IS POSSIBLE

By patience the animal spirits can be disciplined. By self-control one can unify the
character. By close attention to the will, compelling gentleness, one can become like a little
child. By purifying the subconscious desires
one may be without fault. In ruling his country,
if the wise magistrate loves his people, he can
avoid compulsion.
In measuring out rewards, the wise magistrate
will act like a mother bird. While sharply penetrating into every comer, he may appear to be
unsuspecting. While quickening and feeding his
people, he will be producing but without pride
of ownership. He will benefit but without claim
of reward. He will persuade, but not compel by
force. This is teh, the profoundest virtue.
XI
THE VALUE OF NON-EXISTENCE

Although the wheel has thirty spokes its utility

lies in the emptiness of the hub. The jar is made
by kneading clay, but its usefulnesS consists
in its capacity. A room is made by cutting out
windows and doors through the walls, but the
space the walls contain measures the room's
value.

Digitized by

Coogle
~

16

WU WEI

In the same way matter is necessary to form,

but the value of reality lies in its immateriality.
(Or thus: a material body is necessary to
existence, but the value of & life is measured by
its immaterial soul.)
XII

AVOIDING DESIRE

An excess of light blinds the human eye; an

excess of noise ruins the ear; an excess of condiments deadens the taste. The effect of too
much horse racing and hunting is bad, and the
lure of hidden treasure tempts one to do evil.
Therefore the wise man attends to the inner
significance of things and does not concern himself with outward appearances. Therefore he
ignores matter and seeks the spirit.
XIII
LOATHING SHAME

Favor and disgrace are alike to be feared, just

as too great care or anxiety are bad for the body.
Why are favor and disgrace alike to be feared?
To be favored is humiliating; to obtain it is
as much to be dreaded as to lose it. To lose favor
is to be in disgrace and of course is to be dreaded.
Why are excessive care and great anxiety alike
bad for one? The very reason I have anxiety
is because I have a body. If I have not body
why would I be anxious?
. Therefore if he who admjnjsters the empire,

Digitized by

Coogle

17

TAO TEH KING

esteems it as his own body, then he is worthy to

be trusted with the empire.
XIV
IN PRAISE OF THE PROFOUND

It is unseen because it is colorless; it is unheard because it is soundless; when seeking to

grasp it, it eludes one, because it is incorporeal.
Because of these qualities it cannot be examined, and yet they form an essential unity.
Superficially it appears abstruse, but in its depths
it is not obscure. It has been nameless forever!
It appears and then disappears. It is what is
known as the form of the formless, the image of
the imageless. It is called the transcendental,
its face (or destiny) cannot be seen in front, or
its back (or origin) behind.
But by holding fast to the Tao of the ancients,
the wise man may understand the present, because he knows the origin of the past. This is
the clue to the Tao.

xv
THAT WHICH REVEALS TEH

In olden times the ones who were considered

worthy to be called masters were subtle, spiritual,
profound, wise. Their thoughts could not be
easily understood.
Since they were hard to understand I will try
to make them clear. They were cautious like
men wading a river in winter. They were reluctant like men who feared their neighbors.
Digitized by

Coogle

18

wu

WEI

They were reserved like guests in the presence of

their host. They were elusive like ice at the
point of melting. They were like unseasoned
wood. They were like a valley between high
mountains. They were obscure like troubled
waters. (They were cautious because they were
conscious of the deeper meanings of life and its
possibilities. )
We can clarify troubled waters by slowly quieting them. We can bring the unconscious to life
by slowly moving them. But he who has the
secret of the Tao does not desire for more. Being
content, he is able to mature without desire to
be newly'faShioned.
XVI

RETURNING TO THE SOURCE

Seek to attain an open mind (the summit of

vacuity). Seek composure (the essence of tranquillity).
All things are in process, rising and returning.
Plants come to blossom, but only to return to
the root. Returning to the root is like seeking
tranquillity; it is moving towards its destiny.
To move toward destiny is like eternity. To
know eternity is enlightenment, and not to recognize eternity brings disorder and evil.
Knowing eternity makes one comprehensive;
comprehension makes one broadminded; breadth
of vision brings nobility; nobility is like heaven.
The heavenly is like Tao. Tao is the Eternal.
The d~cay of the body is not to be feared.
Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH KING

19

XVII
SIMPLICITY OF HABIT

When great men rule, subjects know little of

their existence. Rulers who are less great win
the affection and praise of their subjects. A
, common ruler is feared by his subjects, and an
unworthy ruler is despised.
When a ruler lacks faith, you may seek in vain
for it among his subjects.
How carefully a wise ruler chooses his words.
He performs deeds, and accumulates meritl
Under such a ruler the people think they are
ruling themselves.
xvm
THE PALLIATION OF THE INFERIOR

When the great Tao is lost sight of, we still

have the idea of benevolence and righteousness.
Frudence and wisdom come to mind when we
see great hypocrisy. When relatives are unfriendly, we still have the teachin(!8 of filial piety
and paternal affection. When the state and the
clan are in confusion and disorder, we still have
the ideals of loyalty and faithfulness.
XIX
RETURN TO SIMPLICITY

Abandon the show of saintliness and relinquish

excessive prudence, then people will benefit a
hundredfold. Abandon ostentatious benevolence
and conspicuous righteousness, then people will re-

Digitized by

Coogle

20

wu

WEI

turn to the primal virtues of filial piety and parental affection. Abandon cleverness and relinquish
gains, then thieves and robbers will disappear.
Here are three fundamentals on which to depend, wherein culture is insufficient. Therefore
let all men hold to that which is reliable, namely,
recognize simplicity, cherish purity, reduce one's
possessions, diminish one's desires.

xx
THE OPPOSITE OF THE COMMONPLAClil

Avoid learning if you would have no anxiety.

The "yes" and the "yea" differ very little, but
the contrast between good and evil is very great.
That which is not feared by the people is not
worth fearing. But, oh, the difference, the
desolation, the vastness, between ignorance and
the limitless expression of the Tao.
(The balance oj this sonnet is devoted to show. ing the difference between the careless state oj
the common people and his own vision oj the

Tao. It is one oj the most pathetic expressions

oj human loneliness, Jrom lack oj appreciation,
ef.l81' 'fD'f'itren. It is omitted here that it mighJ.
serve Jqr the closing sonnet and valedictcYry.)
XXI
THE HEART OF EMPTINESS

All the innumerable forms of teh correspond

to the norm of Tao, but the nature of the Tao's

activity is infinitely abstract and illusive. lllusive and obscure, indeed, but at its heart are

Digitized by

Coogle

21

TAO TEH KING

forms and types. Vague and illusive, indeed,

but at its heart is all being. Unfathomable and
obscure, indeed, but at its heart is all spirit, and
spirit is reality. At its heart is truth.
From of old its expression is unceasing, it has
been present at all beginnings. How do I know
that. its nature is thus? By this same Tao.
XXII

INCREASE BY HUl\IILITr

At that time the deficient will be made perfect;

the distorted will be straightened; the empty
will be filled; the worn out will be renewed; those
having little will obtain and those having much
will be overcome.
.
Therefore the wise man, embracing unity as
he does, will become the world's model. Not
pushing himself forward he will become enlightened; not asserting himself he will become
distinguished; not boasting of himself he will
acquire merit; not approving himself he will
endure. Forasmuch as he will not quarrel, the
world will not quarrel with him.
Is the old saying, "The crooked shall be made
straight," a false saying? Indeed, not They
will be perfected and return rejoicing.
XXIII
EMPTINESS AND NOT-DOING

(w-u

WEI)

Taciturnity is natural to man. A whirlwind

never outlasts the morning, nor a violent rain
the day. What is the cause? It is heaven and

Digitized by

Coogle

22

WU WEI

earth. If even heaven and earth are not constant, much less can man be.
Therefore he who pursues his affairs in the
spirit of Tao will become Tao-like. He who
pursues his affairs with teh, will become teh-like.
He who pursues his affairs with loss, identifies
himself with loss.
He who identifies himself with Tao, Tao rejoices to guide. He who identifies himself with
teh, teh rejoices to reward. And he who identifies himself with loss, loss rejoices to ruin.
If his faith fail, he will receive no reward of
faith.
XXIV

TROUBLES AND MERIT

It is not natural to stand on tiptoe, or being

astride one does not walk. One who displays
himself is not bright, or one who asserts himself
cannot shine. A self-approving man has no
merit, nor does one who praises himself grow.
The relation of these things (self-display, selfassertion, self-approval) to Tao is the same as'
offal is to food. They are excrescences from the
system; . they are detestable; Tao does not
dwell in them.
xxv
DESCRIBING THE MYSTERIOUS

There is Being that is all-inclusive and that

existed before Heaven and Earth. Calm, indeed,
and incorporeal I It is alone and changeless I

Digitized by

Coogle

23

TAO TEH KING

Everywhere it functions unhindered. It thereby becomes the world's mother. I do not know
its nature; if I try to characterize it, I will call
it Tao.
H forced to give it a name, I will call it the
Great. The Great is evasive, the evasive is the
distant, the distant is ever coming near. Tao is
Great. So is Heaven great, and so is Earth and
so also is the representative of Heaven and Earth.
Man is derived from nature; nature is derived
from Heaven, Heaven is derived from Tao. Tao
is self-derived.
XXVI
THE VIRTUE (TEH) OF DIGNITY

The heavy is the root of the light; the quiet

is master of motion. Therefore the wise man in
all the experience of the day will not depart from
dignity. Though he be surrounded with sights
that are magnificent, he will remain Ca1m. and
unconcerned.
How does it come to pass that the Emperor,
master of ten thousand chariots, has lost the
mastery of the Empire? Because being flippant
himself, he has lost the respect of his subjects;
being passionate himself, he has lost. the control
of the Empire.
XXVII
THE FUNCTION OF SKILL

Good walkers leave no tracks, good speakers

make no errors, good counters need no abacus,

Digitized by

Coogle

....

24

WU WEI

good wardens have no need for bolts and locks

for no one can get by them. Good binders can
dispense with rope and cord, yet none can unloose
their hold.
Therefore the wise man trusting in goodness
always saves men, for there is no outcast to him..
Trusting in goodness he saves all things for there
is nothing valueless to him. This is recognizing
concealed values.
Therefore the good man is the instructor of
the evil man, and the evil man is the good man's
wealth. He who does not esteem his instructors
or value his wealth, though he be otherwise intelligent, becomes confused. Herein lies the
significance of spirituality.
xxvm
RETURNING TO SIMPLICITY

He who knows his manhood and understands

his womanhood becomes useful like the valleys
of earth (which bring water). Being like the
valleys of earth, eternal vitality (teh) will not
depart from him, he will come again to the nature
of a little child.
He who knows his innocence and recognizes
his sin becomes the world's model. Being a
world's model, infinite teh will not fail, he will
return to the Absolute.
He who knows the glory of his nature and
recognizes also his limitations becomes useful
like the world's valleys. Being like the world's

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH BING

25

valleys, eternal teh will not fail him, he will

revert to simplicity.
Radiating simplicity he will make of men
vessels of usefulRess. The wise man then will
employ them as officials and chiefs. A great
admjnjstration of such will harm no one.
XXIX
NOT FORCING THINGS

(wu

WIll)

One who desires to take and remake the Empire

will fail. The Empire is a divine thing that cannot be remade. He who attempts it will only
mar it.
He who seeks to grasp it, will lose it. People
differ, some lead, others follow; some are ardent,
others are formal; some are strong, others weak;
some succeed, others fail. Therefore the wise
man practices moderation; he abandons pleasure,
extravagance and indulgence.

xxx
BE STINGY OF WAlt

When the magistrate follows Tao, he has no

need to resort to force of arms to strengthen the
Empire, because his business methods alone will
show good returns.
..
Briars and thorns grow rank where an army
camps. Bad harvests are the aequence of a great
war. The good ruler will be resolute and then
stop, be dare not take by force. One IhouId be
ftl80lute but not boastful; reaolute but DOt;

Digitized by

Coogle

26

WU WEI

haughty; resolute but not arrogant; resolute

but yielding when it cannot be avoided; resolute
but he must not resort to violence.
By a resort to force, things flourish for a time
but then decay. This is not like the Tao and
that which is not Tao-like will soon cease.
XXXI

AVOIDING WAR

Even successful arms, among all implements,

are unblessed. All men come to detest them.
Therefore the one who follows Tao does not rely
'on them. Arms are of all tools unblessed, they
are not the implements of a wise man. Only
as a last resort does he use them.
Peace and quietude are esteemed by the wise
man, and even when victorious he does not rejoice, because rejoicing over a victory is the same
as rejoicing over the killing of men. If he rejoices
over killing men, do you think he will ever really
master the Empire?
In propitious affairs the place of honor is the
left, but in unpropitious affairs we honor the right.
The strong man while at home esteems the
left as the place of honor, but when armed for
war it is as though he esteems the right hand, the
place of less honor.
Thus a funeral ceremony is so arranged. The
place of a subordinate army officer 'is also on the
left and the place of his superior officer is on
the right. The killing of men fills multitudes

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH KING

27

with sorrow; we lament with tears because of it,

and rightly honor the victor as if he was attending a funeral ceremony.
XXXII
THE VIRTUE (TEH) OF HOLINESS

Tao in its eternal aspect is unnamable. Its

simplicity appears insignificant, but the whole
world cannot control it. If princes and kings
employ it every one of themselves will pay willing
homage. Heaven and Earth by it are harmoniously combined and drop sweet dew. People
will have no need of rulers, because of themselves
_
they will be righteous.
.As soon as Tao expresses itself in -orderly
creation then it becomes comprehensible. When
one recognizes the presence of Tao he understands
where to stop. Knowing where. to stop he is free
from danger.
To illustrate the nature of Tao's place in the
universe: Tao is like the brooks and streams in
their relation to the great rivers and the ocean.
XXXIII
THE VIRTUE (TEH) OF DISCRIMINATION

He who knows others is intelligent; he who

understands himself is enlightened; he who is
able to conquer others has force, but he who is
able to control himself is mighty. He who appreciates contentment is wealthy.
He who dares to act has nerve; if he can main-

Digitized by

Googl~

28

wu

WEI

ta.in his position he will endure, but he, who

dying does not perish, is immortal.
XXXIV

THE PERFECTION OF TRUST

Great Tao is all pervading! It can be on both

the right hand and the left. Everything relies
upon it for their existence, and it does not fail
them. It acquires merit but covets not the
title. It lovingly nourishes everything, but does
not claim the rights of ownership. It has no
desires, it can be classed with the small. Everything returns to it, yet it does not claim the
right of ownership. It can be classed with the
great.
Therefore the wise man to the end will not pose
as a great man, and by so doing will express his
true greatness.

xxxv
THE VIRTUE (TEH) OF BENEVOLENCE

The world will go to him who grasps this Great

Principle; they will seek and not be injured;
they will find contentment, peace and rest.
Music and dainties attract the passing people,
while Tao's reality seems insipid. Indeed it has
no taste, when looked at there is not enough
seen to be prized, when listened for, it can
scarcely be heard, but the use of it is inexhaustible.
Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH KING

29

XXXVI
EXPLANATION OF A PARADOX

That which has a tendency to contract must

first have been extended; that which has a
tendency to weaken itself must first have been
strong; that which shows a tendency to destroy
itself must first have been raised up; that which
shows a tendency to scatter must first have been
gathered.
This is the explanation of a seeming contr&diction: the tender and yielding conquer the rigid
and strong (i.e., spirit is stronger than matter,
persuasion than force). The fish would be foolish
to seek escape from its natural environment.
There is no gain to a nation to compel by a show
of force.
XXXVII
ADMINISTERING THE GOVERNMENT

Tao is apparently inactive (wu wei) and yet

nothing remains undone. H princes and kings
desire to keep everything in order, they must
first reform themselves. (H princes and ~ings
would follow the example of Tao, then all things
will reform themselves.) H they still desire to
change, I would pacify them by the simplicity of
the ineffable Tao.
This simplicity will end desire, and if desire
be absent there is quietness. All people will of
themselves be satisfied.
Digitized by

Coogle

30

WU WEI
XXXVIII
A DISCUSSION ABOUT TED

Essential teh makes no show of virtue, and

therefore it is really virtuous. Inferior virtue
never loses sight of itself and therefore it
is no longer virtue.
Essential virtue is
characterized by lack of self-assertion (wu
wei) and therefore is unpretentious. Inferior
virtue is acting a part and thereby is only
pretense.
Superior benevolence in a way is acting but
does not thereby become pretentious. Excessive
righteousness is acting and does thereby become
pretentious. Excessive propriety is acting, but
where no one responds to it, it stretches its arm
and enforces obedience.
Therefore when one loses Tao there is still
teh; one may lose teh and benevolence remains;
one may forsake benevol~nce and still hold to
righteousness; one may lose righteousness and
propriety remains.
Propriety, alone, reduces loyalty and good
faith to a shadow, and it is the beginning of disorder. Tradition is the mere flower of the Tao
and had its origin in ignorance.
Therefore the great man of affairs conforms
to the spirit and not to external appearance.
He goes on to fruitage and does not rest in the
show of blossom. He avoids mere propriety and
practices true benevolence.

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH KING

31

XXXIX

THE ROOT OF AUTHORITY

It has been said of old, only those who attain

unity attain self-hood.... Heaven attained unity
and thereby is space. Earth attained unity,
thereby it is solid. Spirit attained unity, thereby
it became mind. Valleys attained unity, therefore rivers flow down them. All things have
unity and thereby have life. Princes and kings
as they attain unity become standards of conduct for the nation. And the highest unity is
that which produces unity.
If heaven were not space it might crack, if
earth were not solid it might bend. If spirits
were not unified into mind they might vanish,
if valleys were not adapted to rivers they would
be parched. Everything if it were not for life
would burn up. Even princes and kings if they
overestimate themselves and cease to be standards will presumably fall.
Therefore nobles find their roots among the
commoners; the high is always founded .upon
the low. The reason why princes and. kings
speak of themselves as orphans, inferiors and
unworthy, is because they recognize that their
roots run down to the common life; is it not so?
If a carriage goes to pieces it is no longer a
ca.rria.ge, its unity is gone. A true self-hood
does not desire to be overvalued as a gem, nor
to be undervalued as a mere stone.
Digitized by

Coogle

32

wu

WEI

XL

AVOmING A<t.tIYH'i

Retirement is characteristic of Tao iust as

weakness appears to be a characteristic of its
activity.
Heaven and earth and everything are produced
from existence, but existence comes from nonexistence. . .
XLI
'!'BE UNREALITY OF APPEARANCE

The superior scholar when he considers Tao earnestly practices it; an average scholar listening
to Tao sometimes follows it and sometimes loses
it; an inferior scholar listening to Tao ridicules it.
Were it not thus ridiculed it could not be regarded
as Ta.o.
Therefore the writer says: Those who are
most illumined by Tao are the most obscure.
Those advanced in Tao are most retiring. Those
best guided by Tao are the least prepossessing.
The high in virtue (teh) resemble a lowly
valley; the whitest are most likely to be put to
shame; the broadest in virtue resemble the
inefficient. The most firmly established in virtue
resemble the remiss. The simplest chastity
resembles the fickle, the greatest square has no
comer, the largest vessel is never filled. The
greatest sound is void of speech, the greatest
form has no shape. Tao is obscure and without

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH KING

33

name, and yet it is precisely this Tao that alone

can give and complete.
XLII

THE TRANSFORMATION OF TAO

Tao produces unity; unity produces duality;

duality produces trinity; trinity produces all
things. All things bear the negative principle
(yin) and embrace the positive principle (yang).
Immaterial vitality, the third principle (chi),
makes them harmonious.
Those things which..are detested by the common people, namely to be called orphans, inferiors, and unworthies, are the very things kings
and lords take for titles. There are some things
which it is a. gain to lose, and a. lOBS to gain.
I am teaching the same things which are taught
by others. But the strong and aggressive ones
do not obtain a natural death (i.e., self-confident
teachers do not succeed). I alone expound the
basis of the doctrine of the Tao.
XLIIl
THE FUNCTION OF THE UNIVERSAL

The moat tender things of creation race over

the hardest.
A non-material existence enters into the most
impenetrable.
I therefore recognize an advantage in the
doctrine of not doing (wu wei) and not speaking.

Digitized by

Coogle

34

WU WEI

But there are few in the world who obtain the

advantage of non-assertion (wu wei) and silence.
XLIV
PRECEPTS

Which is nearer, a name or a person? Which

is more, personality or treasure? Is it more
painful to gain or to suffer loss?
Extreme indulgence certainly greatly wastes.
Much hoarding certainly invites severe loss.
A contented person is not despised. One who
mows when to stop is not endangered; he will
be able therefore to continue.
XLV

THE VIRTUE (TEH) OF GREATNESS

Extreme perfection seems imperfect, its function is not exhausted. Extreme fullness appears
empty, its function is not exercised.
Extreme straightness appears crooked; great
skill, clumsy; great eloquence, stammering. Motion conquers cold, quietude conquers heat.
Not greatness but purity and clearness are the
world's standard.
XLVI

LIMITATION OF DESIRE

When the world yields to Tao, race horses will

be used to haul manure. When the world ignores
Tao _war horses are pastured on the public common.

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH KING

35

There is no sin greater than desire. There is

no misfortune greater than discontent. There
is no calamity greater than acquisitiveness.
Therefore to know extreme contentment is
simply to be content.
XLVll
SEEING THE DISTANT

Not going out of the door I have knowledge of

the world. Not peeping through the window I perceive heaven's Tao. The more one wanders to
a distance the less he knows.
Therefore the wise man does not wander about
but he understands, he does not see things but
he defines them, he does not labor yet he completes.
XLVllI
TO FORGET KNOWLEDGE

He who attends daily to learning increases in

learning. He who practices Tao daily diminishes.
Again ad again he humbles himself. Thus he
attains to non-doing (wu wei). He practices nondoing and yet there is nothing left undone.
To command the empire one must not employ
craf't. If one uses craft he is not fit to command
the empire.
XLIX

THE VIRTUE (TEH) OF TRUST

The wise man has no fixed heart; in the hearts of

The good he treats

the people he finds his own.

Digitized by

Coogle

36

wu

WEI

with goodness; the not-good he also treats with

goodness, for teh is goodness. The faithful ones
he treats with good faith; the unfaithful he
also treats with good faith, for teh is good
faith.
The wise man lives in the world but he lives
cautiously, dealing with the world cautiously.
He universalizes his heart; the people give him
their eyes and ears, but he treats them as his
.children.
L

IISTEEK LIFE

Life is a going forth; death is a returning home.

Of ten, three are seeking life, three are seeking

death, and three are dying. What is the reason?
Because they live in life's experience. (Only one
is immortal.)
I hear it said that the sage when he travels
is never attacked by rhinoceros or tiger, and
when coming among soldiers does not fear their
weapons. The rhinoceros would find no place
to horn him, nor the tiger a place for his claws,
nor could soldiers wound him. What is the
reason? Because he is invulnerable.
LI

TEH AS A NURSE

Tao gives life to all creatures; teh feeds them;

materiality shapes them; enel1O" completes them.

Digitized by

Coogle

37

TAO TEH KING

Therefore among all things there is none that

does not honor Tao a.nd esteem. teh. Honor for
Tao a.nd esteem. for teh is never compelled, it is
always spontaneous. Therefore Tao gives life
to them, but teh nurses them, raises them,
nurtures, completes, matures, rears, protects
them.
Tao gives life to them but makes no claim of
ownership; teh forms them but makes no claim
upon them, raises them but does not rule them.
This is profound vitality (teh).
LU
RETURN TO ORIGIN

When creation began, Tao became the world's

mother. When one knows one's mother he will
in turn know that he is her son. When he recognizes his sonship, he will in turn keep to his
mother and to the end of life will be free from
danger~

He who closes his mouth and shuts his sense

gates will be free from trouble to the end of life.
He who opens his mouth and meddles with affairs
cannot be free from trouble even to the end of
life.
To recognize one's insignificance is called enlightenment. To keep one's sympathy is ca.lled
strength. He who uses Tao's light returns to
Tao's enlightenment and does not surrender his
person to perdition. This is caJIed practicing
the eternal.

Digitized by

Coogle

38

WU WEI
LIn
GAIN BY INSIGHT

Even if one has but a little knowledge he can

walk in the ways of th~ great Tao; it is only selfassertion that one need fear.
The great Tao (Way) is very plain, but people
prefer the bypaths. When the palace is very
splendid, the fields are likely to be very weedy,
and the granaries empty. To wear ornaments
and gay colors, to carry sharp swords, to be excessive in eating and drinking, and to have wealth
and treasure in abundance is to know the pride
of robbers. This is contrary to Tao.
LIV

TO CULTIVATE INTUITION

The thing that is well planted is not easily

uprooted. The thing that is well guarded is not
easily taken away. If one has sons and grandsons, the offering of ancestral worship will not
soon cease.
He who practices Tao in his person shows that
his teh is real. The family that practices it
shows that their teh is abounding. The township that practices it shows that their teh is
enduring. The state that practices it shows that
their teh is prolific. The empire that practices
it reveals that teh is universal. Thereby one
person becomes a test of other persons, one family
of other families, one town of other towns, one

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH KING

39

county of other counties, and one empire of all

empires.
How do I know that this test is universal?
By this same Tao.
LV
TO VERIFY THE MYSTERIOUS

The essence of teh is comparable to the state

of a young .boy. Poisonous insects will not sting
him, wild beasts will not seize him, birds of prey
will not attack him. The bones are weak, the
muscles are tender, it is true, but his grasp is firm.
He does not yet know the relation of the sexes,
but he has perfect organs, nevertheless. His
spirit is virile, indeed! He can sob and cry all
day without becoming hoarse, his harmony (as a
child) is perfect indeed!
.
To recognize this harmony (for growth) is to
know the eternal. To recognize the eternal is
to know enlightenment. To increase life (to
cause things to grow) is to know blessedness. To
be conscious of an inner fecundity is strength.
Things fully grown are about to decay, they are
the opposite of Tao. The opposite of Tao soon

ceases.
LVI

THE TEH OF THE MYSTERIOUS

The one who knows does not speak; the one

who speaks does not know. The wise man shuts
his mouth and closes his gates. He softens his

Digitized by

Coogle

40

WU WEI

sharpness, unravels his tangles, dims his brilliancy,

and reckons himself with the mysterious.
He is inaccessible to favor or hate; he cannot
be reached by profit or injury; he cannot be
honored or humiliated. Thereby he is honored
by all.
LVII
THE HABIT OF SIMPLICITY

The empire is administered with righteousness;

the army is directed by craft; the people are
captivated by non-diplomacy. How do I know
it is so? By this same Tao.
Among people the more restrictions and prohi1?itions there are, the poorer they become. The
more people have weapons, the more the state
is in confusion. The more people are .artful and
cunning the more abnormal things occur. The
more laws and orders are issued the more, thieves
and robbers abound.
Therefore the wise man says: If a ruler practices wu wei the people will reform of themselves.
If I love quietude the :People will of themselves
become righteous. If I avoid profit-making
the people will of themselves become prosperous. If I limit my desires the people will of
themselves become simple.
LVIII
ADAPTATION TO CHANGE

When an administration is unostentatious the

people are simple. When an administration is

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH KING

41

inquisitive, the people are needy. Misery, alas,

supports happiness. Happiness, alas, conceaJs
misery. Who knows its limits? It never ceases.
The normal becomes the abnormal. The good
in turn becomes unlucky. The people's confusion is felt daily for a long time.
Therefore the wise man is square, yet 'does not
injure, he is angular but does not annoy. He is
upright but is not cross. He is bright but not

glaring.
LIX

TO KEEP TA.O

In governing the people and in worshipping

heaven nothing surpasses moderation. To value
moderation, one must form the habit early. Its
early acquisition will result in storing and accumulating vitality. By storing and accumulating vitality nothing is impossible.

H nothing is impossible then one is ignorant

of his limits. H one does not know his limitations, one may possess the state. He who
possesses moderation is thereby lasting and enduring. It is like having deep roots and a strong
stem. This is of long life and enduring insight
the T~ (way).
LX

TO MAINTAIN POSITION

One should govern a great state as one fries

small fish (i.e., do not scale or clean them).
Digitized by

Coogle .

42

wu

WEI

With Tao one may successfully rule the Empire. Ghosts will not frighten, gods will not
harm, neither will wise men mislead the people.
Since nothing fri~tens or harms the people, teh
will abide.
LXI
THE TEH OF HUMILITY

A great state that is useful is like a bond of

unity within the Empire; it is the Empire'~ wife.
The female controls the male by her quietude
and submission. Thus a great state by its service
to smaller states wins their allegiance. A small
state by submission to a great state wins an
influence over them. Thus some stoop to conquer, and others stoop and conquer.
Great states can have no higher purpose than
to federate states and feed the people. Small
states can have no higher purpose than to enter
a federation and serve the people. Both alike,
each in his own way, gain their end, but to do so,
the greater must practice humility.
LXII
THE PRACTICE OF TAO

The Tao is the asylum of all things; the good

man's treasure, the bad man's last resort. With
beautiful words one may sell goods but in winning
people one can accomplish more by kindness.
Why should a man be thrown away for his evil?
To conserve him was the Emperor appointed and
the three ministers.

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH KING

43

Better than being in the presence of the Emperor and riding with four horses, is sitting and
explaining this Tao.
The reason the Ancients esteemed Tao was
because if sought it was obtained, and because
by it he that hath sin could be saved. Is it
not so? Therefore the world honors Tao.
LXIII
A CONSIDERATION OF BEGINNINGS

One should avoid assertion (wu wei) and practice inaction. One should learn to find taste in
the tasteless, to enlarge the small things, and
multiply the few. He should respond to hatred
with kindness. He should resolve a difficulty
while it is easy, and manage a great thing while
it is small. Surely all the world's difficulties
arose from slight causes, and all the world's great
afTairs had small beginnings.
Therefore the wise man avoids to the end
participation in great afTairs and by so doing
establishes his greatness.
Rash promises are lacking in faith and many
things that appear easy are full of difficulties.
Therefore the wise man considers every thing
difficult and so to the end he has no difficulties.
LXIV
CONSIDER THE INSIGNIFICANT

That which is at rest is easily restrained, that

which has not yet appeared is easily prevented. .

Digitized by

Coogle

44

WU WEI

The weak is easily broken, the scanty is easily

scatWed. Consider a difficulty before it arises,
and admjnister afIairs before they become disorganized. A tree that it takes both arms to
encircle grew from a tiny rootlet. A pagoda of
nine stories was erected by placing small bricks.
A journey of three thousand miles begins with
one step. If one tries to improve a thing, he mars
it; if he seizes it, he loses it. The wise man,
therefore, not attempting to form things does not
mar them, and not grasping 8.fter things he does
not lose them. The people in their rush for
business are ever approaching success but continually failing. One must be as careful to the
end as at the bt-,ginnjng if he is to succeed.
Therefore the wise man desires to be free from
desire, he does not value the things that are
difficult of attainment. He learns to be unlearned,
he returns to that which all others ignore. In that
spirit he helps all things toward their natural development~ but dares not interfere.
LXV
THE TEB OF SIMPLICITY

In the olden days those who obeyed the spirit

of Tao did not enlighten the people but kept them
simple hearted.
The reason people are difficult to govern is
because of their smartness; likewise to govern
a people with guile is a curse; and to govern
them with simplicity is a blessing. He who

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEB KING

remembers these two things is a model ruler.

Always to follow this standard and rule is teh, the
profound.
Profound teh is deep indeed and far reaching.
The very opposite of common things, but by it
one obtains obedient subjects.
LXVI
TO SUBORDINATE SELF

The reason rivers and seas are called the kings

of the valley is because they keep below them.
Therefore the wise man desiring to be above
his people must in his demeanor keep below them;
wishing to benefit his people, he must ever keep
himself out of sight.
The wise man dwells above, yet the people do
not feel the burden; he is the leader and the
people suffer no harm. Therefore the world
rejoices to exalt him and never wearies of him.
Because he will not quarrel with anyone, no
one can quarrel with him.
LXVII
THREE TREASURES

All the world calls Tao great, yet it is by nature

immaterial. It is because a thing is seemingly
unreal that it is great. If a man affects to be
great, how long can he conceal his mediocrity?
Tao has three treasures which he guards and
cherishes. The first is called compassion; the
second is called economy; the third is called

Digitized by

Coogle

46

WU WEI

humility. A man that is compassionate can be

truly brave; if a man is economical he can be
generous; if he is humble he can become a useful
servant.
H one discards compassion and is still brave,
.abandons economy and is still generous, forsakes
humility and still seeks to be serviceable, his
days are numbered. On the contrary if one is
truly compassionate, in battle he will be a conqueror and in defence he will be secure. When
even Heaven helps people it is because of compassion that she does so.
LXVIII

COMPLIANCE WITH REAYEN

He who excels as a soldier is the one who is not

warlike; he who fights the best fight is not wrathful; he who best conquers an enemy is not quarrelsome; he who best employs people is obedient
himself.
This is the virtue of not-quarreling, this is the
secret of bringing out other men's ability, this is
complying with Heaven. Since of old it is considered the greatest virtue (teh).
LXIX

THE FUNCTION OF THE MYSTERIOUS

A military expert has said: I do not dare put

myself forward as a host, but always act as a
guest. I hesitate to advance an inch, but am
willing to withdraw a foot.

Digitized by

Coogle

47

TAO TEH KING

This is ,advancing by not a4vancing, it is win..

ning without arms, it is charging without hostility,
it is seizing without weapons. There is no mistake greater than making light of an enemy.
By making light of an enemy we lose. our
treasure.
Therefore when well-matched armies come to
conflict, the one who is conscious of his weakness
conquers.
LXX
THE DIFFICULTY OF UNDERSTANDING

My words are very easy to understand and

very easy to put into practice, yet in all the world
no one appears to understand tllem or to practice
them.
Words have an ancestor (a preceding idea),
deeds have a master (a preceding purpose), and
just as these are often not understood, so I am
not understood.
They who understand me are very few, and on
that account I am worthy of honor. The wise
man wears wool (rather than silk) and keeps
his gems out of sight.
LXXI

THE DISEABE OF KNOWLEDGE

To recognize one's ignorance of unknowable

things is mental health, and to be ignorant of
knowable things is sickness. Only by grieving
over ignorance of knowable things are we in

Digitized by

Coogle

48

WU WEI

mental health. The wise man is wise because he

understands his ignorance and is grieved over
it.
LXXII
TO CBl!lBIBB ONE'S BELl'

When people are too ignorant to fear the fear-some thing, then it will surely come. Do not
make the place where they dwell confinjng, the
life they live wearisome. If they' are let alone,
they will not become restless. Therefore the
wise man while not understanding bjmself regards
himself, while cherishing he does not overvalue
himself. Therefore he discards flattery and prefers regard.
LXXIII
ACTION IS DANGEROUS

Courage carried to daring leads to death.

Courage ~trained by caution leads to life.
These two things, courage and caution, are sometimes beneficial and .sometimes harmful. Some
things are rejected by heaven, who can tell the
reason? Therefore the wise man deems all
acting difficult.
The Tao of heaven does not quarrel, yet it conquers. It speaks not, yet its response is good.
It issues no summons but things come to it
naturally because its device8'- are good. Heaven's
net is vast, indeed I its meshes are wide but it
loses nothing.

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH KING

49

LXXIV
OVERCOMING DELUSIONS

If the people do not fear death, how can one ,

frighten them with death? If we teach people to
fear death, then when one rebels he can be seized
and executed; after that who will dare to rebel?
There is always an officer to execute a murderer, but if one takes the place of the executioner, it is like taking the place of a skilled carpenter at his hewing. If one takes the place
of the skilled carpenter he is liable to cut himself.
(Therefore do not interfere with Tao.)
LXXV

LOSS BY GREEDINESS

Starvation of a people comes when an official

appropriates to himself too much of the taxes.
The reason a people are difficult to govern is
because the officials are too meddlesome; the
people make light of death because they are so
absorbed in life's interests. The one who is not
absorbed in life is more moral than he who esteems
life.
LXXVI

BEWARE OF

S~NGTB

When a man is living he is tender and fragile.

When he dies he is hard and stiff. It is the same
with everything, the grass and trees, in life, are
tender and delicate, but when they die they become rigid and dry.

Digitized by

Coogle

50

wu

WEI

Therefore those who are hard and stiff belong

to death's domain, while the tender and weak
belong to the realm of life.
Therefore soldiers are most invincible when
they will not conquer. When a tree is grown to
its greatest' strength it is doomed. The strong
and the great stay below; the tender and weak
rise above.
LXXVII
TAO OF HEAYEN

Tao of heaven resembles the stretching of a

bow. The mighty it humbles, the lowly it exalts.
They who have abundance it dimjnjshes and
gives to them who have need.
That is Tao of heaven; it depletes those who
abound, and completes those who lack.
The human way is not so. Men take from
those who lack to give to those who already
abound. Where is the man who by his abundance can best serve, the world?
The wise man makes but claims not, he accomplishes merit, yet is not attached to it, neither
does he display his excellence. Is it not so?
LXXVIII
TRUST AND FAITH

In the world nothing is more fragile than

water, and yet of all the agencies that attack
hard substances nothing can surpass it.
Of all things there is nothing that can take the

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH KING

51

place of Tao. By it the weak are conquerors of

the strong, the pliable are conquerors of "the
rigid. In the world every one knows this, but
none practice it.
Therefore the wise man declares: he who is
guilty of the country's sin may be the priest at
the altar. He who is to blame for the country's
misfortunes, is often the Empire's Sovereign.
True words are often paradoxical.
LXXIX
ENFORCING CONTRACTS

When reconciling great hatred there will some

remain. How can it be made good?
Therefore the wise man accepts the debit side
of the account and does not have to enforce payment from others. They who have virtue (teh)
keep their obligations, they who have no virtue
insist on their rights. Tao of heaven has no favorites but always helps the good man.
LXXX

CONTENTMENT

In a small country with few people let there

be officers over tens and hundreds but not to

exercise power. Let the people be not afraid of

death, nor desire to move to a distance. Then
though there be ships and carriages, they will
have no occasion to use them. Though there
be armor and weapons there will be no occasion
for donning them. The people can return to

Digitized by

Coogle

52

WU WEI

knotted cords for their records, they can delight

in their food, be proud .of their clothes, be
content with their dwellings, rejoice in their
customs.
Other states may be close neighbors, their
cocks and dogs may be mutually heard, people
will come to old age and die but will have no
desire to go or come.
LXXXI
'l'BlD NATURE OF THE ESSlIlNTIAL

Faithful words are often not pleasant; pleasant

words are often not faithful. Good men do not
dispute; the ones who dispute are not good.
The learned men are often not the wise men, nor
the wise men, the learned. The wise man does
not hoard, but ever working for others, he will
the more exceedingly acquire. Having given to
others freely, he himself will have in plenty.
Tao of heaven benefits but does not injure. The
wise man's Tao leads him to act but not to quarrel.
VALEDICTORY

PART OF THE

20TH SONNET

Common people are joyful; they celebrate a

feast day; they flock to a pavilion in spring time.
I alone am calm, as one who has as yet received
no omen; I am as a babe who has not learned to
smile. I am forlorn, like a homeless wandererl
Common people have plenty; I alone am. in
want. I am. a foolish man at heart I I am.

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO TEH KING

53

ignorant. Common people are vivacious and

smart, I alone am dull and confused.
Knowledge of the Tao, how vast! I am like a
sailor far beyond a place of anchorage, adrift on
a boundless ocean. Common people are useful,
I am awkward. I stand in contrast to thembut oh, the prize I seek_ is food from our Mother
Tao! .

Digitized by

Coogle

Digitized by

Coogle

WU WEI
HENRI BOREL

Digitized by

Coogle

Digitized by

Coogle

PREFACE

HE following study on Laotzu's "Wu-Wei"

should by no means be regarded as a translation or even as a free rendering of the actual work
of that philosopher I have simply endeavoured
to retain in my work the pure essence of his
thought, and I have given a direct translation of
his essential truths in isolated instances only, the
rest being for the most part a self-thought-out
elaboration of the few principles enunciated by
him.
My conception of the terms "Tao" and "WuWei" is entirely different from that of most sinologues (such as Stanislas Julien, Giles, and Legge),
\\Vho have translated the work "Tao-Teh-King."
But this is not the place to justify myself. It may
best be judged from the following work whether
my conception be reasonable or incorrect.
Little is contained in Laotzu's short, extremely
simple book, the words of which may be said
to be condensed into their purely primary significance - (a significance at times quite at variance with that given in other works to the same
words *) - but this little is gospel. Laotzu's
work is no treatise on philosophy, but contains,
rather, merely those truths to which this (un By Confucius, for instance.
57

Digitized by

Coogle

58

PREFACE

written) philosophy had led him. In it we find

no form nor embodiment, nothing but the quintessence of this philosophy.
My work is permeated with this essence, but
it is no translation of Laotzu. None of my
metaphorical comparisons, such 88 that with the
landscape, with the sea, with the clouds, are anywhere to be' found in Laotzu's work. Neither
has he anywhere spoken of Art, nor specially of
Love. In writing of all this I have spoken aloud
the thoughts and feelings instinctively induced
by the perusal of Laotzu's deep-felt philosophy.
Thus it may be that my work contains far more
of myself than I am conscious of; but even so,
it is but an outpouring of the thought and feeling
called up in me by the words of Laotzu.
I have made use of none but Chine8e works on
Laotzu, and of those only a few. On reading
later some of the English and French translations,
I was amazed to find how confused and unintelligible these books were.
I adhered to my simple idea of Laotzu's work,
and of my work I could alter nothing, for I felt
the truth of it within me 88 a simple and natural
faith.
HENRI BOBEL.

Digitized by

Coogle

CONTENTS
PA.Olll

CHAPTER I

TA.o

. 61

CHAPTER II

A:s.T

.80
CHAPTER III

Lon

. 97

NOTES.

.113

59

Digitized by

Coogle

The numbers in the text refer to notes by the author,

which will be found at the end of the book.

60

Digitized by

Coogle

CHAPTER I

TAO

WAS standing in the Temple of Shien Shan

on an islet in the Chinese Sea, distant a few
hours' journey from the harbour of Hi T6.
On either side rose mountain ranges, their soft
outlines interwoven behind the island to the westward. To the eastward shimmered the endless
Ocean. High up, rock-supported, stood the
Temple, in the shadow of broad Buddha-trees.
The island is but little visited, but sometimes
fisher-folk, fleeing before the threatening typhoon,
anchor there when they have no further hope of
reaching the harbour. Why the Temple exists
in this lonely spot, no one knOWB; but the lapse
of centuries has established its holy right to stand
there. Strangers arrive but seldom, and there
are only a hundred poor inhabitants, or thereabouts, who live there simply because their ancestors did so before them. I had gone thither in
the hope of finding some man of a serious bent
of mind with whom to study. I had explored
the temples and convents of the neighborhood
for more than a year, in search of earnest-minded
priests capable of telling me what I was unable
to learn from the superficial books on Chinese
religion; but I found nothing but ignorant,
61
Digitized by

Googl~

62

wu

WEI

stupid creatures everywhere - kneeling to idols

whose symbolical significance they did not understand, and reciting strange "Sutras" not one
word of which was intelligible to them.1 And
I had been obliged to draw all my information from
badly translated works that had received even
worse treatment at the hands of learned Europeans than at those of the literary Chinese whom
I had consulted. At last, however, I had heard
an old Chinaman speak of "the Sage of Shien
Shan" as of one well-versed in the secrets of
Heaven and Earth; and - without cherishing
any great expectations, it is true - I had crossed
the water to seek him out.
This Temple resembled many others that I
had seen. Grimy priests lounged on the steps
in dirty-grey garments, mld stared at me with
senseless grins. The figures of "Kwan Yin" and
"Cakyamuni" and "Sam-Pao-Fu" had been
newly restored, and blazed with all imaginable
crude colours that completely marred their former
beauty. The floor was covered with dirt and
dust, and pieces of orange-peel and suga.r-cane
were strewn about. A thick and heavy atmosphere oppressed my breast.
Addressing one of the priests, I said:
"I have come to visit the philosopher. Does
not an old hermit dwell here, called after 'Laotzu'?"
With a wondering face he answered me:
.
"Laotzu lives in the top-most hut upon the
cliffs. But he does not like barbarians."

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO

63

I asked him quietly:

"Will you take me to him, Bikshu, for a dollar 1"
There was greed in his glance, but he shook his
head, saying:
"I dare not; seek him yourself."
The other priests grinned, and offered me tea,
in the hope of a tip. I left them, and climbed the rocks, reaching the
top in half an hour; and there I found a little
square stone hut. I knocked at the door, and,
shortly after, heard some one draw back a bolt.
There stood the sage, looking at me.
And it was a revelation.
It seemed as though I saw a great light - a
light not dazzling, but calming.
He stood before me tan and straight as a paImtree. His countenance was peaceful as is a calm
evening, in the hush of the trees, and the still
moonlight; his whole person breathed the majesty
of nature, as simply beautiful, as purely spontaneous, as a mountain or a cloud. His presence
radiated an atmosphere holy as the prayerful
soul in the soft after-gleam on a twilight landscape, - I felt uneasy under his deep gaze, and
saw my poor life revealed in all its pettiness. I
could not speak a word, but felt in silence his
enlightening influence.
He raised his hand with a gesture like the movement of a swaying flower, and held it out to me heartily - frankly. He spoke, and his voice
was soft music, like the sound of the wind in the
kees:

Digitized by

Coogle

64

wu

WEI

"Welcome, strangerl What do you seek of

me? - old man that I am!"
"I come to seek a master," I answered humbly,
"to find the path to human goodness. I have
long searched this beautiful land, but the people
seem as though they were dead, and I am as poor
as ever."
"You err somewhat in this matter," said the
sage. "Strive not so busily to be so very good.
Do not seek it overmuch, or you will never find the
true wisdom. Do you not know how it was that
the Yellow Emperor II recovered his magic pearl?
I will tell you.
"The Yellow Emperor once travelled round the
north of the Red Sea, and climbed to the summit
of the Kuenliin mountains. On his return to the
southward he lost his magic pearl. He besought
his wits to find it, but in vain. He besought his
sight to find it, but in vain. He besought his
eloquence to find it, but that was also in vain.
At last he besought Nothing, and Nothing recovered it. 'How extraordinary l' exclaimed the
Yellow Emperor, 'that Nothing should be able
to recover it!' Do you understand me, young
man?"
eel think this pearl was his soul," I answered,
"and that knowledge, sight and speech do but
cloud the soul rather than enlighten it; and that
it was only in the peace of perfect quietude that
his soul's consciousness was restored to the Ye110w
Emperor. Is it so, Master?"
"Quite right; you have felt it as it is. And

Digitized by

Coogle

65

TAO

do you know, too, by whom this beautiful legend

is told?"
"I am. young and ignorant; I do not know."
"It is by Chuang-Tse, the disciple of Laotzu,
China's greatest philosopher. It was neither
Confucius nor Mencius who spoke the purest wisdom in this country, but Laotzu. He was the
greatest, and Chuang-Tse was his apostle. You
foreigners cherish, I know, a certain well-meaning
admiration for Laotzu also, but I think but few
of you know that he was the purest human being
who ever breathed. - Have you read the 'TaoTeh-King'? and have you ever considered, I
wonder, what he meant by 'Tao'?"
"I should be grateful if you would tell me,
Master."
"I think I may well instruct you, young man.
It is many years since I have had a pupil, and I
see in your eyes no curiosity, but rather a pure
desire of wisdom, for the freeing of your soul.
Listen then. 4
"Tao is really nothing but that which you
Westerns call 'God.' Tao is the One; the beginning and the end. It embraces all things,
and to it all things return.
"Laotzu wrote at the commencement of his
book the sign: Tao. But what he actually meant
- the Highest, the One - can have no name, can
never be expressed in any sound, just because it is
The One. Equally inadequate is your term 'God.'
- Wu - Nothing - that is Tao. You do not
understand me? - Listen further! There exists,

..

...

Digitized by

Coogle

WU WEI

then, an absolute Reality - without beginning,

without end - which we cannot comprehend, and
which therefore must be to us as Nothing. That
which we are able to comprehend, which has for
us a relative reality, is in truth only appearance.
It is an outgrowth, a result of absolute reality,
seeing that everything emanates from, and returns to, that reality. But things which are real
to us are not real in themselves. What we call
Being is in fact Not-Being, and jUst what we call .
Not-Being is Being in its true sense. So that we
are living in a great obscurity. What we imagine
to be real is not real, and yet emanates from the
real, for the Real is the Whole. Both Being and
Not-Being are accordingly Tao. But above all
never forget that 'Tao' is merely a sound uttered
by a human being, and that the idea i8 essentially
inexpressible. All things appreciable to the senses
and all cravings of the heart are unreal. Tao
is the source of Heaven and Earth. One begat
Two, two begat Three, Three begat Millions.
And Millions return again into One.
U H you remember this well, young man, you
have passed the first gateway on the path of
Wisdom.
"You know, then, that Tao is the source of
everything; of the trees, the flowers, the birds;
of the sea, the desert, and the rocks; of light and
darkne88; of heat and cold; of day and night;
of summer and winter, and of your own life.
Worlds and oceans evaporate in Eternity. Man
rises out of the darkne88, laughs in the glimmer~

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO

67

ing light, and disappears. But in all these

changes the One is manifested. Tao is in everything. Your soul in her innermost is Tao. "You see the world outspread before you, young
man? . "
With a stately gesture he pointed seawards.
The hills on either side stood fast, uncompromising, clear-set in the atmosphere - like strong
thoughts, petrified, hewn out by conscious energy
- yielding only in the distance to the tender
influence of light and air. On a very high point
stood a lonely little tree, of delicate leafage, in a
high light. The evening began to fall, with tender
serenity; and a rosy glow, dreamy yet brilliant,
lent to the mountains, standing ever more sharply
defined against it, an air of peaceful joyousness.
In it all was to be felt a gentle upward striving, a
still poising, as in the rarefied atmosphere of conscious piety. And the sea crept up softly, with
a still-swaying slide - with the quiet, irresistible
approach of a type of infinity. The sail of a little
vessel, gleaming softly golden, glided nearer.
So tiny it looked on that immense ocean - so
fearless and lovely I All was pure - no trace
of foulness anywhere.
And I spoke with the rare impulse of a mighty
joy.
"I feel it now, 0 Master! That which I seek
is everywhere. I had no need to seek it in the
distance; for it is quite close to me. It is everywhere - what I seek, what I myself am, what
my soul is. It is farniJiar to me as my own self.

Digitized by

Coogle

68

wu

WEI

It is all revelation! God is everywhere! Tao

is in everything!"
"That is so, boy, but confuse it not! In that
which you see is Tao, but Tao is not what you see.
You must not think that Tao is visible to your eyes.
Tao will neither waken joy in your heart nor draw
your tears. For all your experiences and emotions
are relative and not real.
"However, I will speak no more of that at
present. You stand as yet but at the first gate,
and see but the first glint of dawn. It is already
much that you should realize Tao as present in
everything. It will render your life more natural
and confident - for, believe me, you lie as safe
in the arms of Tao as a child in the arms of its
mother. And it will make you serious and
thoughtful too, for you will feel yourself to be
in all places as holy a thing as is a good priest in
his temple. No longer will you be frightened by
the changes in things, by life and death; for you
know that death, as well as life, emanates from
Tao. And it is so natural that Tao, which pervaded your life, should also after death continually surround you.
"Look at the landscape before you I The
trees, the mountains, the sea, they are your
brothers, like the air and the light. Observe how
the sea is approaching us! So spontaneously, so
naturally, so purely 'because so it must be.'Do you see your dear sister the little tree on
yonder point, bending towards you? and the simple
movement of her little leaves? - Then I will

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO

69

speak to you of Wu-Wei," of 'non-resistance,'

of 'self-movement' on the breath of your impulse
88 it was bom out of Tao. Men would be true
men if they would but let their lives flow of themselves, as the sea heaves, as a flower blooms, in
the simple beauty of Tao. In every man there
is an impulse towards that movement which,
proceeding from Tao, would urge him back to
Tao again. But men grow blind through their
own senses and lusts. They strive for pleasure,
desire, hate, fame and riches. Their movements
are fierce and stormy, their progress a series of
wild uprisings and violent falls. They hold fast
to all that is unreal. They desire too many things
to allow of their desiring the One. They desire,
too, to be wise and good, and that is worst of
all. They desire to know too much.
"The one remedy is: the return to the source
whence they came. In us is Tao. Tao is rest.
Only by renunciation of desire - even the desire
for goodness or wisdom - can we attain rest.
Ohl all this craving to know what Tao isl And
this painful struggle for words in which to express
it and to inquire after it I - The truly wise follow
the Teaching which is wordless - which remains
unexpressed.s And who shall ever express it?
Those who know it (what Tao is) tell it not;
those who tell it know it not. 7 Even I sha.ll not
tell you what Tao is. Yourself must discover
it in that you free yourself from all your passions
and cravings, and live in utter spontaneity, void
of unnatural striving. Gently must Tao be

Digitized by

Coogle

JO

70

wu

WEI

approached, with a motion reposeful as the movement of that broad ocean. That moves, not
because it -chooses to move, nor because it knows
that it is wise or good to move; it moves involuntarily, unconscious of movement. Thus will you
also return to Tao, and when you are returned you
will know it not, for you yourself will be Tao."
He ceased. speaking, and looked at me gently.
His eyes shone with a quiet light, still and even as
the tint of the heavens.
"Father," I said, "what you say is beautiful
as the sea, and it seems simple as nature; but
surely it is not so easy - this strifeless, inactive
absorption of man into Tao?" .
"Do not confuse words one with another,"
he replied. "By strifelessness - Wu-Wei - Laotzu did not mean common inaction, - not mere
idling, with closed eyes. He meant: relaxation
from earthly activity; from desire - from the
craving for unreal things. But he did exact
activity in real things. He implied a powerful
movement of the soul, which must be freed from
its gloomy body like a bird from its cage. He
meant a yielding to the inner motive-force which
we derive from Tao and which leads us to Tao
again. And, believe me: this movement is as
natural as that of the cloud above us. . . ."
High in the blue ether over our heads were
golden clouds, sailing slowly towards the sea.
They gleamed with a wonderful purity, as of a
high and holy love. Softly, softly they were
floating away.

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO

71

"In a little while they will be gone, vanished in

the infinity of the heavens," said the hermit,
" and you will see nothing but the eternal
blue. Thus will your soul be absorbed into
Tao."
"My life is full of sins, JJ I answered; "I am.
heavily burdened with darkening desires. And so
are my benighted fellow-men. How can ou.r life
ever - thus ethereally, in its purest essencefloat towards Tao? It is so heavy with evil,
it must surely sink back into the mire. JJ
"Do not believe it, do not believe it!" he exclaimed, smiling in gracious kindliness. "No
man can annjbi1ate Tao, and there shines in each
one of us the inextinguisha.ble light of the soul.
Do not believe that the evilness of humanity is
so great and so mighty. The eternal Tao dwells
in all; in murderers and harlots as well as in
philosophers and poets. All bear within them
an indestructible treasure, and not one is better
than another. You cannot love the one in
preference to the other; you cannot bless the one
and damn the other. They are as alike in essence
as two grains of sand on this rock. And not one
will be banished out of Tao eternally, for all
bear Tao within them. Their sins are illusive,
having the vagueness of vapours. Their deeds
are a false seeming; and their words pass away
like ephemeral dreams. They cannot be 'bad,'
they cannot be 'good' either. Irresistibly they
are drawn to Tao, as yonder waterdrop to the
great sea. It may last longer with some than
Digitized by

Coogle

72

wu

WEI

with others, that is all. And a few centurieswhat matter they in the face of Eternity? - Poor
friend I Has your sin made you 80 fearful ?
Have you held your sin to be mightier than Tao?
Have you held the sin of men to be mightier than
Tao? - You have striven to be good overmuch,
and 80 have seen your own misdoing in a falsely
clear light. You 1;lave desired overmuch goodness in your fellow-men also, and therefore has
their sin unduly troubled you. But all this is
a seeming. Tao is neither good nor bad. For
Tao is real. Tao alone is; and the life of all
unreal things is a life of false contrasts and relations, which have no independent existence, and
do greatly mislead. So, above all, do not desire
to be good, neither call yourself bad. Wu-Wei unstriving, self-impelled - that must you be.
Not bad - not good; not little - and not great;
not low ~ and not high. And only then will
you in reality be, even whilst, in the ordinary sense
you are not. When once you are free from all
seeming, from all craving and lusting, then will
you move of your own impulse, without 80 much
as knowing that you move; and this, the only
true life-principle - this free, untrammelled motion towards Tao - will be light and unconscious as the dissolution of the little cloud above
you."
I experienced a sudden sense of freedom. The
feeling was not joy - not happiness. It was
rather a gentle sense of expansion - a widening
of my mental horizon.
Digitized by

Coogle

TAO

73

"Father," I said, "I thank youl This revelation of Tao lends me aJrea.dy an impulse which,
though I cannot explain it, yet seems to bear me
gently forward.
"How wonderful is Taol With all my wisdom
- with all my knowledge, I have never felt this
before I"
"Crave not thus for wisdoml" said the philosopher. "Do not desire to know too muchso only shall you grow to know intuitively; for
the knowledge acquired by unnatural striving
only leads away from Tao. Strive not to know
all there is to know concerning the men and things
around you, nor - and this more especiallyconcerning their relations and antagonisms.
Above all, seek not happiness too greedily, and
be not fearful of unhappiness. For neither of
these is real. Joy is not real, nor pain either.
Tao would not be Tao, were you able to picture
it to yourself as pain, as joy, as happiness or
unhappiness; for Tao is One Whole, and in it
no discords may exist. Hear how simply it is
expressed by Chuang-Tse: 'The greatest joy is
no joy.' And pain too will have vanished for
you I You must never believe pain to be a real
thing, an essential element of existence. Your
pain will one day vanish IJ8 the mists vanish from
the mountains. For one day you ~ realize
how natural, how spontaneous are all facts of
existence; and all the great problems which
have held for you mystery and darkness will
become Wu-Wei, quite simple, non-resistent,

Digitized by

Coogle"

74

wu

WEI

no longer a source of marvel to you. For e.verything grows out of Tao, everything is a natural
part of the great system developed from a single
principle. - Then nothing will have power to
trouble you nor to rejoice you more. You wiD
laugh no more, neither will you weep. - I see you
look up doubtfully, as though you found me too
ba.rd, too cold. Nevertheless, when you are somewhat further advanced you will realize that thia
it means, to be in perfect sympathy with Tao.
Then, looking upon 'pain,' you will know that
one day it must disappear, because it is unreal;
and looking upon 'joy,' you will understand that
it is but a primitive and shadowy joy, dependent
upon time and circumstance, and deriving its
apparent existence from contrast with pain.
Looking upon a goodly man, you will find it wholly
natural that he should be as he is, and will experience a foreshadowing of how much goodlier
he will be in that day when he shall no Iongel'
represent the 'kind' and 'good.' And upon a
murderer you will look with all calmness, with
neither special love nor special hate; for he is
your fellow in Tao, and all his sin is powerless to
annihilate Tao within him. Then, for the first
time, when you are Wu-Wei at last - not, in
the common human sense, existing - then all
will be well with you, and you will glide through
your life as quietly and naturally as the great sea
before us. Naught will rufIle your peace. Your
sleep will be dreamless, and consciousness of self
will bring no care.8 You will see Tao in all

Digitized by

Coogle

TAO

75

things, be one with all existence, and look roUnd

on the whole of nature as on something with

which you are intimate as with yourself. And
passing with calm acceptance through the changes
of day and night, summer and winter, life and
death, you will one c;lay enter into Tao, where
there is no more change, and whence you issued
once as pure as you now return."
"Father, what you say is clear - and compels
belief. But life is still so dear to me, and I am
afraid of death; I am afraid too lest my friends
should die, or my wife, or my child! Death seems
to me so black and gloomy -' and life is brightbright - with the sun, and the green and flowery
earth!"
"That is because you fail as yet to feel the perfect naturalness of death, which is equal in reality
to that of life. You think. too much of the insignificant body, and the deep grave' in which
it must lie; but that is the feeling of a prisoner
about to be freed, who is troubled at the thought
of leaving the dark cell where he has lived 80
long. You see death in contrast to life; and
both are unreal- both are a changing and a
seeming. Your soul does not glide out of a
familiar sea into an unfamiliar ocean. That
which is real in you, your soul, can never pass
away, and this fear is no part of her. You must
conquer this fear for ever; or, better still: it will
happen when you are older, and have lived
spontaneously, naturally, following the motions
of Tao, that you will of your own accord cease
Digillzedby

Google

76

wu

WEI

to feel it. Neither will you then mourn for

those who have gone home before you; with
whom you will one day be .reunited - not knowing, yourself, that you are reunited to them,
because these contrasts will no longer be apparent to you. . .
". . It came to pass once upon a time that
Chuang-Tse's wife died, and the widower was
found by Hui-Tse sitting calmly upon the ground,
passing the time, as was his wont, in beating
upon a gong. When Hui-Tse rallied him upon the
seeming indi1IeDence of his conduct, Chuang-Tse
replied:
'''Thy way of regarding things is unnatural.
At first, it is true, I was troubled - I could not
be otherwise. But after some pondering I reflected that originally she was not of this life,
being not only not bom, but without form altogether; and that into this formlessness no lifegerm had as yet penetrated. That nevertheless,
as in a sun-warmed furrow, life-energy then began
to stir; out of life-energy grew form, and form
became birth. To-day another change has completed itself, and she has died. This resembles
the rise and fall of the four seasons: spring,
autumn, winter, summer. She sleeps calmly in
the Great House. Were I now to weep and wail,
it were to act as though the soul of all this had not
entered into me, - therefore I do it no more.'" 9
This he told in a simple, unaffected manner
that showed how natural it appeared to him.
But it was not yet clear to me, and I said:

Digitized by

Coogle

77

TAO

"I find this wisdom terrible; it almost makes

me afraid. Life would seem to me so cold and
empty, were I as wise as this."
"Life i8 cold and empty," he answered, quietly,
but with no trace of contempt in his tone;"and men are as deceptive
life itself. There
is not one who knows himself, not one who knows
his fellows; and yet they are all alike. There
is, in fact, no such thing as life; it is unreal."
I could say no more, and stared before me into
the twilight. The mountains were sleeping peacefully in the tender, bloom-lilre shimmer of vague
night-mists -lying lowly, like children, beneath
the broad heavens. Below us was an indistinct
twinkling of little red lights. From the distance
rose a sad monotonous song, the wail of a flute
accompanying it. In the depths of the darkness lay the sea in its majesty, and the sound of
infinitude swelled far and wide.
Then there arose in me a great sadness, and
my eyes filled, as with passionate insistence
I asked him: "And what of friendship, then?
- and what of love?"He looked at me. I could not see him plainly
in the darkness, but there shone from his eyes a
curious soft light, and he answered gently:
"These are the best things in life, by very far.
They are one with the first stirring of Tao within
you. But one day you will know of them as
little as the stream knows of its banks when it
is lost in the endless ocean. Think not that I
would teach you to banish love from your heart;

as

Digitized by

Coogle

78

WU WEI

for tlw..t would be to go against Tao. Love

what you bve, and be not misled by the thought
tJiat love is a hindrance which holds you in
bondage. To banish love from your heart would
be a mad and earthly action, and would put you
further away from' Tao than you have ever been.
I say only, that love will one day vanish of itself
without your knowing, and that Tao is not
Love. But forget not, that - so far as I desire
it, and so far as it is good for you - I am speaking to you of the very highest things. Were
I only speaking of this life and of men, I should
say: Love is the highest of all. But for him
who is absorbed again into Tao, love is a thing
past and forgotten.
"Now, it has grown late, and I would not impart too much to you at first. You will surely
desire to sleep within the Temple, and I will
prepare your couch. Come with me - and descend the mountain with all cautionl"
He lit a little light, and held out his hand
to lead me. Slowly we. proceeded, step by step:
He was' as careful of me as though I had been his
child; he lighted my path at every steep descent,
and led me gently forward, taking heed of all my
movements.
When we arrived at the foot, he showed me the
guest-chamber set apart for mandarins,1O
,tetche(1 pillow and covering for me.
you, Father, from my heartl" I said.
I ever be able to show my grati-

Digitized by

Coogle

79

TAO

He looked at me quietly, and the glance was

great, like the sea. Calm he was, and gentle as
night. He smiled at me, and it was like the
light laughing upon the earth. And silently he
left me.

Digitized by

Googl~

CHAPTER IT

ART

HAT is art?" I asked the hermit.

We were sitting upon the mountainside, in the shadow of an overhanging rock. Before us stretched the sea - one endless gleam. of
light in the sunshine. Golden sails were driving
quietly over it, and white seagulls sweeping in
noble curvings lightly hither and thither, while
great, snow-pure clouds came up and sailed by
in the blue, majestic in progress, steady and
slow.
"It is as natural as the sea - the birds - the
clouds," he answered. "I do not think you will
find this so hard to grasp and feel as Tao. You
have only to look around you - earth, clouds,
atmosphere, everything will teach it you. Poetry
has existed as long as heaven and earth.U
"Beauty was bom with the heavens and the
earth. The sun, the moon, and the red mists of
morning and evening illumine each other, and
yet - inexhaustible and wonderful as are the
changes presented by them - Nature's great
phenomena - there exist no pigments, as for
garments, to dye them withal. All phenomena
of the world bring forth sound when set in motion,
and every sound implies some motion which has
80

Digitized by

Coogle

ART

81

caused it. The greatest of all sounds are wind

and thunder.
"Listen to the mountain stream racing over the
rocks I .As soon as it is set in motion the sound
of it - high or low, short or long - makes itself
heard, not actually according to the laws of music,
it is true, yet having a certain rhythm and system..
"This is the spontaneous voice of heaven and
earth; the voice that is caused by movement.
"Welll In the purest state of the human
heart - when the fire of the spirit is at its brightest
- then, if it be moved, that too will give forth
sound. Is it not a wondrous metamorphosis
that out of this a literature should be created?"
"So Poetry is the sound of the heart?"
"You will feel how natural this is. Poetry is
to be heard and seen everywhere, for the whole
of Nature is one great poet. But just because
of its simplicity, therefore is it so strict and unalterable. Where the spring of movement is,
there flows the sound of the poem. Any other
sound is no poetry. The sound must come quite
of itself-Wu-Wei-it cannot be generated by
any artifices. There are many - how manylwho by unnatural movement force forth sound;
but these are no poets - rather do they resemble
apes and parrots. Few indeed are the true poets.
From these the verse flows of itself, full of music, powerful as the roaring of the torrent amongst
the rocks, as the rolling of thunder in the clouds, soft as the swishing of an evening shower, or the
gentle breath of a summer night-breeze. - Harkl
Digitized by

Coogle

82

wu

WEI

hark to the sea at our feet! Is it not singing &

wondrous song? Is it not a very poem? - is
it not pure music? See how the waves sway, in
ceaseless mobility - one after the other - one
over the other - swinging onward and onward ever further and further - returning to vanish
in music once more I Dost thou hear their
rhythmic rushing? Ohl great and simple must
a poet be -like the sea! His movement, like
that of the sea, is an impulse out of Tao, and in
that - tranquil, strifeless, obedient as a child must he let himself go. Great, great is the seal
Great, great is the poet. But greater - greater
- is Tao, that which is not great!"
He was silent, listening to the sea, and I saw
how the music of it entered into him.
I had reflected much since hearing his first words
concerning Tao. I was fearful lest his great and
lofty philosophy should mean death to the artist,
and that I also, in giving myself over to this
wisdom of his, should become incapable of feeling
the inspiration of the poet, and of being any more
childishly enraptured at the sight of beauty.
But he himself was standing there in the purest
ecstasy, as though he were now looking upon
the sea for the first time; and reverently, with
shining eyes, he listened to the rush of the waves.
"Is it not beautiful?" he said again, "is it not
beautiful, - this sound, that came out of Tao,
the soundless? - this light, that shone out of
Tao, the lightless? and the word-music: verse,
born of Tao the wordless? Do we not live in an
Digitized by

Coogle

ART

83

endless mystery? - resolving one day into absolute truth!"

I was a long time silent. But its very simplicity was hard for me to grasp. And I asked
him doubtfully: "Can it really be so easy - to
make and sing poems? It is surely not so easy
for us to bring forth verse as for the stream to
rush over the rocks? Must we not first practise
and train ourselves, and learn to know the verseforms thoroughly? And is not that voluntary
action, rather than involuntary motion?"
My question did not embarrass him, and he
answered at once:// Do not let that perplex you. All depends on
whether a man has in him the true spring from
which the verse should flow, or not. Has he
the pure impulse from Tao within him? or is his
life-motive something less simply beautiful? If
he has that source in him he is a poet, if he has it
not he is none. By this time you surely realize
that, considered from a high standpoint, all men
are really poets; for, as I have told you, there
exists in all men the essential, original impulse
emanating from and returning to Tao. But
rarely do we find this impulse alert and strongly
developed - rarely are men endowed with perception of the higher revelations of beauty,
through which their bank-bound life-stream flows
till lost in boundless eternity. One might express
it thus: that ordinary men are like still water in
swampy ground, in the midst of poor vegetation; while poets are clear streams, flowing
Digitized by

Coogle

wu

WEI

amidst the splendour of luxuriant banks to the

endless ocean. But I would rather not speak
80 much in symbols, for that is not plain enough.
"You would fain know whether a man who
has the true inspiration of the poet must not
nevertheless train himself somewhat in his art,
or whether he moves in it entirely of himself, like
nature? - The latter is without doubt the case!
For a young poet, having studied verse-form in
all its variety for but a short time, suddenly comes
to find these forms so natural as to preclude his
inclination for any other. His verse assumes
beautiful form involuntarily, simply because other
movement would be alien. That is just the difference between the poet and the dilettante:
that the poet sings his verse spontaneously, from
his own impulse, and afterwards, proving it, finds
it to be right in sound - in rhythm - in all its
movement; whereas the dilettante, after first
marking out for himself a certain verse-form,
according to the approved pattern of the artlearned, proceeds to project by main force a series
of wholly soulless words upon it. The soulful
words of the poet flowed of themselves just because they were soulful. And, if we view things
in their true light, there do actually exist no hard
and fast forms for poetry, and absolutely no laws;
for Ii verse which flows spontaneously from its
source moves of itself, and is independent of all
preconceived human standards! The one law
is that there shall be no law. Mayhap you will
find this over-da.ring, young man! But remem-

Digitized by

Coogle

85

ART

her that my demonstrations are taken not from

men, but out of Tao, and that I know, moreover,
but very few true poets. The man who is simple
and pure as Nature is rare indeed. Think you
that there are many such in your own land?"
This unexpected question embarrassed me,
and I wondered what could be his drift. It was
hard to answer, too, so I asked him first another
question:
"Great Master, I cannot answer until I hear
more from you. Why does a poet make a poem?"
That seemed to astonish him mightily, for he
repeated it, as though doubting if he had heard
aright:
"Why does a poet make a poem?"
"Yes, Master, why?"
Then he laughed outright, and said:
"Why does the sea roar? Why does the bird
sing? Do you know that, my son?"
"Because they cannot help it, Father, because
they simply must give their nature vent in that
way! It isWu-Weil"
"Quite so! Well, - and why should it be
different with a poet?"
I considered, and my answer came none too
readily:
" Yes, but it may be different. A poet may
sing for the sake of creating or enriching a literature, where there is none, or it is in danger of
dying out. That has a fine sound, but is no pure
motive. Or some poets sing in order to cover
themselves with glory - to be famous, to be

Digitized

byGOOg~

86

WU WEI

crowned with shining laurels, and to gain smiles

from the fair, bright-eyed maidens strewing
. flowers on the path before them!"
II You must express yourself with greater exactness," said the hermit, "and not desecrate
words which thousands hold sacred. For poets
who sing for such reasons are no poets at all. A
poet sings because he sings.' He cannot sing with
any given purpose, or he becomes a dilettante."
"Then, Father, supposing a poet to have sung
as simply as a bird, may he afterwards take
pleasure in the laurels and the roses? May he
jealously hate those who wear the laurels of
which he deems himself worthy? or can he believe
his soul's convictions, and call beauty ugly,
despising the beauty which he has created? - Can
he call the beautiful hateful, because the laurels
come from unwelcome hands? - Can he drape
himself in a false garb, and elect to act differently from other men, in order to gain prominence
through eccentricity? - Can he deem himself
better than the common run of men? -Should
he press the common hands which applaud him?
- May he hate them who deride instead of honouring him? - How can you interpret to me
all these things? They all appear so strange
to me, in comparison with the little bird and the
great sea I"
" All these questions, young friend, are an
answer to my question," he replied; "for the
fact that you would know all this is a proof that
there are not many poets in your country. Re-

Digitized by

Coogle

ART

87

member that I understand and use the word

'poet' in its purest, highest meaning. A poet can
only live for his art, which he loves for itself, and
not as a means for securing fleeting earthly
pleasures. A poet looks upon men and things
- in their nature and relationship - so simply,
that he himself approaches very nearly to the
nature of Tao. Other men see men and things
hazily, as through a fog. The poet realizes this
to be
incontestable fact. How then can he
expect his simplicity to be understood - by this
hazy mind of the public? How can he cherish
feelings of hate and grief when it ridicules him?
How feel pleasure when it should do him honour?
It is the same in this case as with the four 'seasons' of Chuang-Tse. There is nothing specially
agitating in it all, because it is the natural course
of things. Consequently the poet is neither in
despair when he is not heard, nor happy when
he is f~ted. He looks upon the state of things
with regard to the multitude and the way it comports itself towards him as a natural consequence,
of which he knows the cause. The judgment of
the common people is not even so much as indifferent to him - it simply does not exist for
him. He does not sing his verses for the sake
of the people, but because he cannot help himself.
The sound of human comment on his work escapes
him entirely, and he knows not whether he be
famous or forgotten. 'The highest fame is no
fame. '* You look at me, young man, as

an

From the "Nan Hwa King," chap. xviii.

Digitized by

Coogle

88

wu

WEI

though I were telling stranger things than you

have ever dared to dream. But I am telling
nothing but the plainest truth, simple and natural
as the truth in landscape. or sea. Having dwelt
until 80 lately mid the strenuous life of your countrymen, you have never yet seen true simplicity.
For 80 long you have heard nothing spoken of
but 'fame,' 'earnings,' 'honour,' 'artists' and
'immortality,' that, for all you know, these things
may be indispensable as air, and veritable as
your soul. But it is all a seeming and deception.
Those whom you have seen may indeed have
been poets of true fibre, but they had been led
astray from the impulse derived from Tao which
was their life-principle, and they did not remain
what they were, but sank through their weakness
to the nature of commonplace men. So that
they have come to do as ordinary men do, only
they do it more strongly. So much do I gather
from your questioning. But all these are poets no
longer, and will sing no more true poetry 80 long
as they remain as they are. For the smallest
deviation from the original impulse is sufficient
to kill the poetry within them. There is but
the one direct way: single and simple as a maiden - uncompromising as a straight line. This
straight line is spontaneity; on either side of it lie
fa"lse activity and the unnatural- also the roads
to fame and notoriety, where occur murder, and
sudden deafh, and where one bosom friend will
suck the life-blood from another to further the
attainment of his own ends. The straight line

Digitized by

Coogle

89

ART

cuts its own way, without deviation or secret

windings, in simple continuance into infinity.
"You understand then, that thus, by the
nature of things, all those situations which would
convert the poet into the sacrificial victim of the
mob become impossible. You have probably
read, in the history alike of your country and
my own, of poets who have died of grief at want
of recognition, or who have taken their own lives
on account of undeserved contumely. I have
indeed always felt the path9s of this, yet have
realized that to such poets as these the term
truly great cannot be applied.
"And I am speaking, of course, not of the artists of speech only, but of all artists. Shall I
show you now something by an artist as true and
simple-minded as I can conceive a man to be? Come with me then!"
He led me into a small chamber in his huta cell with white walls and no furniture save
the bed, a table covered with books, and a few
chairs. He opened a door in the wall, and drew
out from it a wooden chest. This he carried
as carefully as though it had been some sacred
object or a little child. He set it gently down
upon the :floor, opened the lid, and lifted out a
closed shrine of red-brown wood, which he placed
upon the tab1e.12
"See," he remarked, "this is a beautiful shrine,
to begin with. A beautiful thing must have a
beautiful setting. At present the little doors are
shut. Do you not find this a goodly idea: to

Digitized by

Coogle

90

WU WEI

be able ever thus to hold it hidden from profane

eyes? - But before you, I may well open it."
And the two wings of the shrine flew apart.
Against a background of pale blue silk appeared a large figure, gleaming, and sbimmer.mg, and diffusing a wonderful radiance of its own.
It was the Buddha Kwan Yin, seated upon a lotus
that reared itself, straight, and graceful, and
modestly opened, above a tumult of wild waves.18
"Do you perceive the utter simplicity and
beauty of this? 77 he asked me; and in his voice
there spoke a great and tender love. "Is not
this the very embodiment of perfect rest? - How
serene is the countenance - how wonderfully
tender, and yet how tensely grave, with its closed
eyes gazing into infinity! - See - the cheek,how delicate and tender! See - the mouthand the lofty curving of the eyebrows - and the
pure pearl gleaming above her forehead l' symbol of a soul taking its flight from the body!
And the body - how few are the lines of it! Yet
see: what infinite love and mercifulness in the
downward pose of the left arm; and in the uplifted
right arm - with two raised fingers, held together
as in the act of preaching - what an indescribable holiness! And how beautiful the repose
of the crossed legs resting so softly upon the lotus!
- And see - how tenderly felt, notwithstanding
the immense strength and restraint of the wholethe delicate soles of the feet, curved with such
subtle gentleness! - Is it not the quintessence
of the whole of Buddhism in a single picture?

Digitized by

Coogle

91

ART

You need not to have read anything of Buddhism

in order to appreciate it now, here, in all its inmost meaning. Rest - is it not absolute rest ~
this ideally pure countenance gazing thus stilly
into eternity? Love - is it not absolute love
for the world - this simple drooping of the arm?
And is not the essence of the whole doctrine
grasped and confined in the pose of the uplifted
fingers?

"And then - the material of which such a figure

as this is made! So you realize, I wonder, that
an artist such as this must have laboured for
years and years before his material became as.
pure and ethereal as he required it to be? For
the nature of stone is so hard - is it not? - and
. the general idea of it: matter- that would suit
but ill for the plastic representation of the ideal
conception: Rest. - So the artist wrought upon
all kinds of common materials such as clay, sand,
and earth, and transformed them, by means of
fit and harmonious combination with precious
stones, pearls, and jasper, into costly substances.
And so the material for this figure became something that was no longer material, but rather the
incarnation of a sublime idea. The artist wished
to symbolize also in his representation the rosy
dawn which broke upon mankiild on the appearance of Buddha; and so, shimmering through the
snowy white of his porcelain, he introduced just
such a vague rosy glow as plays upon the morning clouds before the glory of the sun bursts forth.
Is not this half-realized, growing light more in-

Digitized by

Coogle

92

wu

WEI

stinct with feeling than light itself? Can you

perceive this most indefinite, yet clear and rosy
colour shimmering throughout the white? Is
it not chaste as the first soft blush of a maiden?
Is it not the godly love of the artist which thus
glows in the pureness of the white? Such a figure
is, in fact, no longer a figure. The idea of material
is entirely obliterated; it is an inspiration."
For a long time I was too much moved to speak.
More strongly yet than the pure wisdom of the
old man, did the beauty of this art take hold
upon and purify my soul. At last I asked gently:
"Who has created this marvel? I would fain
know, that I may hold his name with yours in
veneration. "
"That is of little importance, my young friendr"
he answered. "The soul th8.t was in this artist
is absorbed again into Tao, just as yours will be
one day. His body has fallen away, like the
leaves from a tree, just as yours in time will fall
away. What weight can attach then to his name?
Nevertheless, I will tell it you; he was called
Tan Wei, J6 and he engraved this name in finelydevised characters upon the back of the figure,
such being the custom at that time. - Who was
he? A common workman, surely, who did not
even know, himself, that he was an artist; who
seemed to himself nothing more than a common
peasant, and who had not the least suspicion that
his work was so beautiful. But he must have
gazed much at the heavens and clouds above him,
and have loved the wide seas, and the landscapes,

Digitized by

Coogle

ART

93

and the flowers; otherwise he could not have

been so fine in feeling; for such simple lines and
pure colours are only to be found in Nature. He
was Certainly not celebrated; you will not find
his name in any history. I could not tell you
whence he came, how he lived, or to what age.
I know only that it is more than four hundred
years since such figures as these were made, and
that connoisseurs reckon that this one dates from
the first half of the Ming-Dynasty. Most probably the artist lived quite quietly the same sort
of life as the other people, worked industriously
. as a common labourer, and died humbly, unconscious of his own greatness. But his work
remained, and this image, which by a fortunate
chance has found its way to this district, where
the last wars never raged, is still the same as
when he made it. And thus it may last on for
centuries and centuries, in inextinguishable radiance, in maidenly majesty. 0, to create such
a thing, in pure, unconscious simplicity - that
is to be a poet I That is the art which dates not
from time but from eternityl- How beautiful
it is I Do you not find it so too? This porcelain,
that is almost indestructible; this radiance, which
never dies awayl Here upon the earth it stands,
so strong and yet so tender, and so it will be, long
after our successors are dead I - And the soul
of the artist is with Tao I"
We continued long to look upon the image.
Then he took careful hold of the shrine once more.
"It is so delicate," he said, "that I hardly dare

Digitized by

Coogle

94

wu

WEI

to expose it to broad daylight. For this miracle

of tenderness - ethereal as a soul- the daylight
is too hard. I feel a kind of anxiety, lest the light
should suddenly break it in pieces; or cause it to
dissolve like a little light cloud - so wholly soullike is its composition I"
And softly, very softly, he replaced the shrine
within the chest, which he closed.
He went out now, before me, and we seated
ourselves again beneath the overhanging rock.
"How beautiful it would be," I said, "if every
one could make things like that, in all simplicity,
and surround themselves with them, everywherel"
"Every one I" he answered; "well, that is perhaps too much to expect! But there really was
once a time when this great kingdom was one
great temple of art and beauty. You may still
see the traces of it here in China. At that time
the greater number of the people were simpleminded artists. All objects surrounding them
were beautiful, the smallest thing as well as the
greatest - whether it were a temple, a garden,
a table, a chair, or a knife. Just examine the
little tea-cups, or the smallest censers of that
period I The poorest coolie ate out of vessels as
perfect in their way as my Kwan-Yin image.
All objects were beautifully made, and involuntarily so. The simple artisans did not consider themselves 'artists,' or in any way different
from their fellow-men, and no petty strife can
have arisen between them, otherwise there would
have been an end of their art. Everything was
Digitized by

Coogle

95

ART

beautiful because they were all single-minded

and worked honestly. It was as natural in those
days for things to be beautiful as it is now-a-days
for them to be ugly. The art of China has sunk
to its lowest ebb; that is a consequence of its
miserable social condition. You have surely
remarked that the art of the country is deteriorating. And that is a death-sign for this great Empire. For Art is inseparably connected with the
full-bloom of a country's life. If the art declines,
then the whole country degenerates. I do not
mean this in the political, but rather in the moral
sense. For a morally-strong and simple-hearted
people brings forth involuntarily a strong and
healthy art. - Yes, what you said is true; how
much better would men's lives be, could they
but create for themselves better surroundings!
And how extraordinary that this is not done!
For Nature rema.jns ever and everywhere accessible to them. See the clouds - the treesthe sea!"
The sea was still, as ever, splashing at our
feet - boundless and pure. Clouds sailed majestically landwards, with a slow motion, in the
full blaze of the light. Golden gleams, falling
upon the mountains, vanished again with the
rhythmical sweep of the clouds. Light and
motion, sound and play of colour, everywhere!
The hermit gazed calmly and confidingly at
this infinite loveliness; as though deeply conscious
of the intimate relationship existing between him
and all his surroundings. He seemed to guess

Digitized by

Coogle

...111

96

wu

WEI

what was in my mind as I looked at him, for he

said:
"We fit as naturally into this beauty around us
as a tree or a mountain. If we can but remain
so always, we shall retain the feeling of our own
well-being amid all the great workings of the
world-system. So much has been said about
human life; and scholars have created such an
endless labyrinth of theories! And yet in its inmost kernel it is as plain as Nature. All things
are equal in simplicity, and nothing is really in
confusion, however much it may seem as though
it were so. Everything moves surely and inevitably as the sea."
There rang in his voice both the great love of
the poet and the quiet assurance of the scholar
who takes his stand upon incontrovertible truth.
" Are you satisfied for to-day?" was his friendly
question; "and have I helped you forward a little?
Do you feel more clearly what poetry is?"
"Father," I answered, "your wisdom is poetry,
and your poetry is wisdom! How can that be?"
"That is quite true, from your point of view,"
he answered. "But you have yet to learn that
all these words are but a seeming. I know not
what my wisdom is, nor my poetry. It is all one.
It is so simple and natural when you understand
this! It is all Tao."

Digitized by

Coogle

CHAPTER III

LOVE

NCE more it was evening. We sat again upon

the soft turf of the mountain-side, the quietness of our mood in sympathy with the solemn
stillness of twilight. The distant mountainranges reposed in an atmosphere breathing reverence and devotion - they seemed to be kneeling
beneath the heavens, beneath the slow-descending
blessing of night. The isolated trees dotted
here and there about the hills stood motionless,
in a pause of silent worshipping. The rush of the
sea sounded distant and indistinct, lost in its own
greatness. Peace layover everything, and soft
sounds went up, as of prayer.
The hermit stood before me, dignified as a tree
in the midst of Nature, and awe-inspiring as the
evening itself.
I had returned to question him again. For my
soul found no repose apart from him, and a mighty
impulse was stirring within me. But now that I
found myself near him, I hardly dared to speak;
and indeed it seemed as though words were no
longer necessary - as though everything lay, of
itself, open and clear as daylight. How goodly
and simple everything appeared that evening!
Was it not my own inmost being that I recognized
f11

Digitized by

Coogle

98

WU WEI

in all the beauty around me? and was not the

whole on tbtl point of being absorbed into the
Eternal?
Nevertheless I broke in upon this train of
feeling, and cleft the peaceful silence with my
voice:
"Father," I said sadly, "all your words have
sunk into my mind, and my soul is filled with the
balm of them. This soul of mine is no longer my
own - no longer what I used to be. It is as
though I were dead: and I know not what is
taking place within me - by day and by night causing it to grow so light, and clear, and vacant
in my mind. Father, I know it is Tao; it is
death, and glorious resurrection; but it is not
love; and without love, Tao appears to me but
a gloomy lie."
The old man looked round him at the evening
scene, and smiled gently.
"What is love?" he asked calmly. "Are you
sure about that, I wonder?"
"No, I am not sure," I answered. "I do not
know anything about it, but that is just the reason
of its great blessedness. Yes, do but let me express it! I mean: love of a maiden, love of a
woman.-I remember yet, Father, what it was
to me when I saw the maiden, and my soul knew
delight for the first time. It was like a sea, like
a broad heaven, like death. It was light - and
I had been blind! It hurt, Father - my heart
beat so violently - and my eyes burned. The
world was a fire, and all things were strange, and
Digitized by

Coogle

LOVE

99

began to live. It was a great flame flaring from

out my soul. It was so fearful, but so lovely,
and so infinitely great! Father, I think it was
greater than Tao!"
"I know well what it was," said the sage. "It
was Beauty, the earthly form of the formless Tao,
calling up in you the rhythm of that movement
by which you will enter into Tao. You might
have experienced the same at sight of a tree, a
cloud, a flower. But because you are human,
living by desire, therefore to you it could only be
revealed through another human being, a woman
- because, also, that form is to you more easily
understood, and more familiar. And since desire
did not allow the full upgrowth of a pure contemplation, therefore was the rhythm within
you wrought up to be wild tempest, like a stormthrashed sea that knows not whither it is tending.
The inmost essence of the whole emotion was not
'love,' but Tao."
But the calmness of the old sage made me impatient, and excited me to answer roughly:
"It is easy to talk thus theoretically, but seeing
that you have never experienced it yourself, you
can understand nothing of that of which you
speak!"
He looked at me steadily, and laid his hand
sympathetically on my shoulder.
"It would be cruel of you to speak thus to any
one but me, young man! - I loved, before you
drew breath in this world! At that time there
lived a maiden, so wondrous to see, it was as if

Digitized by

Coogle

100

wu

WEI

she were the direct-born expression of Tao. For

me she was the world, and the world lay dead
around her. I saw nothing but her, and for me
there existed no such things as trees, men, or
clouds. She was more beautiful than this evening, gentler than the lines of those distant mountains, more tender than those hushed tree-tops;
and the light of her presence was more blessed to
see than the still shining of yonder star. I will
not tell you her story. It was more scorching
than a very hell-fire - but it was not real, and
it is over now, like a storm that has passed. It
seemed to me that I must die; I longed to flee from
my pain into death. - But there came a dawning in my soul, and all grew light and comprehensible. Nothing was lost. All was yet as it
had been. The beauty which I believed to have
been taken from me lived on still, spotless, in
myself. For not from this woman, - out of my
soul had this beauty sprung; and this I saw
shining yet, all over the world, with an everlasting
radiance, Nature was no other than what I had
fashioned to myself out of that shadowy form of
a woman. And my soul was one with Nature,
and floated with a like rhythm towards the eternal
Tao."
Calmed by his calmness, I said: II She whom
. I loved is dead, Father - She who culled my soul
as a child culls a flower never became my wife.
But I have a wife now, a miracle of strength and
goodness, a wife who is essential to me as light
and air. I do not love her as I even now love the,

Digitized by

Coogle

101

LOVE

dead. But I know that she is a purer human

being than that other. How is it then that I do
not love her so much? She has transformed my
wild and troubled life into a tranquil march towards death. ,She is simple and true as Nature
itself, and her face is dear to me as the sunlight."
"You love her, indeed!" said the sage, "but
you know not what love means, nor loving. I will
tell it you. Love is no other than the rhythm of
Tao. I have told you: you are come out of Tao,
and to Tao you will return. Whilst you are
young - with your soul still enveloped in darkness - in the shock of the first impulse within you,
you know not yet whither you are trending. You
see the woman before you. You believe her to
be that towards which the rhythm is driving you.
But even when the woman is yours, and you have
thrilled at the touch of her, you feel the rhythm
yet within you, unappeased, and know that you
must forward, ever further, if you would bring it
to a standstill. Then it is that in the soul of the
man, and of the woman there arises a great sadness,
and they look at one another, questioning whither
they are now bound. Gently they clasp one
another by the hand, and move on through life,
swayed by the same impulse, towards the same
goal. Call this love if you will. What is a name?
I call it Tao. And the souls of those who love are
like two white clouds floating softly side by side,
that vanish, wafted by the same wind, into the
infinite blue of the heavens."

Digitized by

Coogle

102

WU WEI

"But that is not the love that I mean!" I cried.

"Love is not the desire to see the loved one absorbed into Tao; love is the longing to be always
with her; the deep yearning for the blending of
the two souls in one; the hot desire to soar, in
one breath with her, into felicity! And this
always with the loved one alone - not with
others, not with Nature. And, were I absorbed
into Tao, all this happiness would be for ever lost!
Oh let me stay here, in this goodly world, with
my faithful companion! Here it is so bright and
homely, and Tao is still so gloomy and inscrutable
for me."
"The hot desire dies out," he answered calmly.
"The body of your loved one will wither and pass
away within the cold earth. The leaves of the
trees fade in autumn, and the withered flowers
droop sadly to the ground. How can you love
that so much which does not last? However, you
know, in truth, as yet, neither how you love nor
what it is that you love. The beauty of woman
is but a vague reflection of the formless beauty of
Tao. The emotion it awakens, the longing to
lose yourself in her beauty, that ecstasy of feeling
which would lend wings for the flight of your soul
with the beloved - beyond horizon-bounds, into
regions of bliss - believe me, it is no other than
the rhythm of Tao; only you know it not. You
resemble still the river which knows as yet only
its shimmering banks; which has no knowledge of
the power that draws it forward; but which will
one day inevitably flow out into the great ocean.

Digitized by

Coogle

103

LOVE

Why this striving after happiness, after human

happiness, that lasts but a moment and then
vanishes again? Chuang-Tse said truly: 'The
highest happinesss is no happiness.' Is it not
small and pitiable, this momentary uprising,
and downfalling, and uprising again? This wavering, weakly intention and progress of men?
Do not seek happiness in a woman. She is the
joyful revelation of Tao directed towards you.
She is the purest form in the whole of nature by
which Tao is manifested. She is the gentle force
that awakens the rhythm of Tao within you.
But she is only a poor creature like yourself.
And you are for her the same joyful revelation
that she is to you. Fancy not that that which
you perceive in her is that Tao, that very holiest,
into which you would one day ascend t For then
you would surely reject her when you realized
what she was. If you will truly love a woman,
then love her as being of the same poor nature as
yourself, and do not seek happiness with her.
Whether in your love you see this or not - her
inmost being is Tao. A poet looks upon a woman,
and, swayed by the 'rhythm,' he perceives the
beauty of the beloved in all things - in the trees,
the mountains, the horizon; for the beauty of a
woman is the same as that of Nature. It is the
form of Tao, the great and formless, and what
your soul desires in the excitement of beholding
- this strange, unspeakable feeling - is nothing
but your oneness with this beauty, and with the
source of this beauty - Tao. And the like is

Digitized by

Coogle

104

WU WEI

experienced by your wife. Ye are for each

other angels, who lead one another to Tao unconsciously."
I was silent for a while, reflecting. In the soft
colouring and stillness of the evening lay a great
. sadness. About the horizon, where the sun had
set, there glimmered a streak of faint red light,
like dying pain.
"What is this sadness, then, in the Nature
around us?" I asked. "Is there not that in the
twilight as though the whole earth were weeping
with a grievous longing? See how she mourns,
with these fading hues, these drooping tree-tops,
and solemn mountains. Human eyes must fill
with tears, when this great grief of Nature looms
within their sight. It is as though she were
longing for her beloved - as though everything seas, mountains and heavens - were full of
mourning. "
And the Sage replied: "It is the same pain
which cries in the hearts of men. Your own
longing quivers in Nature too. The 'Heimweh'
of the evening is also the 'Heimweh' of your soul.
Your soul has lost her love: Tao, with whom she
once was one; and your soul desires n7union
with her love. Absolute n7union with Tao - is
not that an immense love? - to be so absolutely
one with the beloved that you are wholly hers,
she wholly yours; - a union so full and eternal
that neither death nor life can ever cleave your
oneness again? So tranquil and pure that desire
can no more awaken in you - perfect blessedness

Digitized by

Coogle

105

LOVE

being attained, and a holy and permanent peace?

.. For Tao is one single, eternal, pure in-

finitude of soul.
"Is that not more perfect than the love of a
woman? - this poor, sad love, each day of which
reveals to you some sullying of the clear life of the
soul by dark and sanguine passion? When you
are absorbed into Tao, then only will you be completely, eternally united with the soul of your
beloved, with the souls of all men, your brothers,
and with the soul of Nature. And the few moments of. blessedness fleetingly enjoyed by all
lovers upon earth are as nothing in comparison
with that endless bliss: the blending of the souls
of all who love in an eternity of perfect purity/' .
A horizon of blessedness opened out before my
BOul, wider than the vague horizon of the sea,
wider than the heavens.
"Father!" I cried in ecstasy, "can it be that
everything is so holy, and I have never known it?
- I have been so filled with longing, and so wornout with weeping; and my breast has been heavy
with sobs and dread. I have been so consumed
with fear! I have trembled at the thought of
death! I have despaired of all things being good,
when I saw so much suffering around me. I have
believed myself damned, by reason of the wild
passions, the bodily desires, burning within and
flaming without me - passions which, though
hating them, I still was, coward-like, condemned
to serve. With what breathless horror I have
realized how the tender, flower-like body of my

Digitized by

Coogle

106

WU WEI

love must one day moulder and crumble away

in the cold, dark earth! I have believed that I
should never feel again that blessed peace at the
look in her eyes, through which her soul was
shining. And was it Tao! - was Tao really even
then always within me, like a faithful guardian?
and was it Tao that shone from her eyes? Was
Tao in everything that surrounded me? in. the
clouds, the trees and the sea? Is the jnm.ost
being of earth and heaven,then, also the inmost
being of my beloved and my own soul? Is it
that for which there burns within me that mysterious longing which I did not understand, and
which drove me so restlessly onward? I thought
it was leading me away from the beloved and
that I was ceasing to love her! - Was it really the
rhythm of Tao, then, that moved my beloved too?
- the same as that in which all nature breathes,
and all suns and planets pursue their shining course
throughout eternity? - Then all is indeed made
holy! - then Tao is indeed in everything, as my
soul is in Tao! Oh, Father, Father! it is growing
so light in my heart! My soul seems to foresee
that which will come one day; and the heavens
above us, and the great sea, they foretell it too!
See, how reverent is the pose of these trees
around us - and see the lines of the mountains,
how soft in their holy repose! All Nature is filled
with sacred awe, and my soul too thrills with
ecstasy, for she has looked upon her beloved!"
I sat there long, in silent, still forgetfulness.
It was to me as though I were one with the soul

Digitized by

Coogle

107

LOVE

of my master and with Nature. I saw nothing

and heard nothing; - void of all desire, bereft of
all will, I lay sunk in the deepest peace. I was
awakened by a soft sound close by me. A fruit
had fallen from the tree to the ground behind us.
When I looked up, it was into shimmering moonlight. The recluse was standing by me, and bent
over me kindly.
I~
"You have strained your spirit overmuch, my
young friend!" he said concernedly. "It is too
much for you in so short a time. You have fallen
asleep from exhaustion. The sea sleeps too.
See,not a furrow breaks its even surface; motionless, dreaming, it receives the benediction of
the light. But you must awaken! It is late,
your boat is ready, and your wife awaits you at
home in the town."
I answered, still half dreaming: "I would so
gladly stay here. Let me return, with my wife,
and stay here for ever! I cannot go back to the
people again! Ah, Father, I shudder - I can see
their scoffing faces, their insulting glances, their
disbelief, and their irreverence! How can I retain
the wondrous light and tender feeling of my soul
in the midst of that ungracious people? How can
I ever so hide it under smile or speech that they
shall never detect it, nor desecrate it with their
insolent ridicule?"
Then, laying his hand earnestly upon my
shoulder, he said:
"Listen carefully to what I now say to you, my
friend, and above all, believe me. I shall give you

Digitized by

Coogle

108

WU WEI

pain, but I cannot help it. You mmt return to

the world and your fellow-men; it cannot be otherwise. You have spoken too much with me
already; perhaps I have said somewhat too much
to you. Your further growth must be your own
doing, and you must find out everything for
yourself. Be only simple of heart, and you will
discover everything without effort, like a child
finding flowers. At this moment you feel deeply
and purely what I have said to you. This present
mood is one of the highest moments of your life.
But you cannot yet be strong enough to maiiltain
it. You will relapse, and spiritual feeling will
turn again to words and theories. Only by slow
degrees will you grow once more to feel it purely
and keep it permanently. When that is so, then
you may return hither in peace and then you
will do well to remain here; - but by that time
I shall be long dead.
"You must complete your growth in the midst
of life, not outside it; for you are not yet pure
enough to rise above it. A moment ago, it is
true, you were equal even to that, but the reaction
will soon set in. You may not shun the rest of
mankind; they are your equals, even though they
may not feel so purely as you do. You can go
amongst them as their comrade, and take them
by the hand; only do not let them look upon
your soul, so . long as they are still so far behind
you. They would not mock you from evilmindedness, but rather out of religious persuasion,
being unaware how utterly miserable, how god-

Digitized by

Coogle

LOVE

109

less, how forsaken they are, and how far from

all those holy things by which you actually live.
You must be so strong in your conviction that
nothing can hinder you. And that you will only
become after a long and bitter 'Struggle. But
out of your tears will grow your strength, and
through .pain you will attain peace. Above all
remember that Tao, Poetry and Love are one and
the same, although you may seek to define it by
these several vague terms; - that it is always
within you and around you; - that it never forsakes you; and that you are safe and well cared
for in this holy environment. You are surrounded with benefits, and sheltered by a love
which is eternal. Everything is rendered holy
through the primal force of Tao dwelling within
it."
He spoke so gently and convincingly that I had
no answer to give. Willingly I allowed myself
to be guided by him to the shore. My boat lay
motionless upon the smooth water, awaiting
me."Farewell, my young friend t Farewell!" he
said, calmly and tenderly. "Remember all that
I have told you!"
But I could not leave him in such a manner.
Suddenly I thought of the loneliness of his life in
this place, and tears of sympathy rose to my eyes.
I grasped his hand.
.
"Father, come with me!" I besought him.
"My wife and I will care for you; we will do
everything for you; and when you are sick we

/'

Digitized by

G~e

110

WU WEI

will tend you. Do not stay here in this loneliness,

so void of all the love that might make life sweet
to you!"
He smiled gently, and shook his head as a father
might at some fancy of his child's,. answering with
tranquil kindness:
"You have lapsed already! Do you realize
now how necessary it is for you to remain in the
midst of the every-day life? I have but this
moment told you how great is the love which
surrounds me - and still you deem me lonely
here and forsaken? _. Here, in Tao, I am as
safe at home as a child is with its mother. You
mean it well, my friend, but you must grow wiser,
much wiser! Be not concerned for me; that is
unnecessary, grateful though I am to you for
this feeling. 'rhi.Qkof yourself just now. And
do what I say. Believe that I tell you that which
is best for you. In the boat lies something which
should remind you of the days you have spent
here. Farewelll"
I bent silently over his hand and kissed it. I
thought I felt that it trembled with emotion; but
when I looked at him again his face was calm and
cheerful as the moon in the sky.
I stepped into the boat, and the boatman took
up the oars. With dextrous stro~es he drove it
over the even surface of the water.. I was already
some way from the land ~hen my foot struck
against some object in the boat and I remembered
that something for me was lying there. I took it
up. It was a small chest. Hastily I lifted the lid.

Digitized by

Coogle

111

LOVE

And in the soft, caJm moonlight there gleamed

with mystical radiance the wonderful porcelain of
the Kwan-Yin image, the same which the old man
had cherished so carefully, and loved so well.
There, in the lofty tranquility of severe yet
gentle lines, in all the ethereal delicacy of the
transparent porcelain, reposed the pure figure
of Kwan-Ym, shinjng as with spiritual radiance
amidst the shjmmering petals of the lotus.
I scarcely dared believe that this holy thing had
been given to me. I seized my handkerchief, and
waved with it towards the shore, to convey to the
recluse my thanks. He stood there motionless,
gazing straight before him. I waited longingly
for him to wave - for one more greeting from
him - one more sign of love - but he remained
immovable.
Was it I after whom he was gazing? Was he
gazing at the sea?
I closed the lid of the chest, and kept it near
me, as though it had been a love of his which I
was bearing away. I knew now that he cared for
me; but his imperturbable serenity.was too great
for me - it saddened my mood that he had never
signed to me again.
We drew further and further away; the outlines of his figure grew fainter and fainter; at last
I could see it no more.
He remained; with the dre8ms of his soul, in
the midst of Nature - alone in infinity - bereft
of all human love - but close to the great bosom
of Tao.

Digitized by

Coogle

A"

112

WU WEI

I took my way back to the life amongst mankind, my brothers and equals - in all the souls
of whom dwells Tao, primordial and eternal.
The ornamental lights of the harbour gleamed
already in the distance, and the drone of the
great town sounded nearer and nearer to us over
the sea.
Then I felt a great strength in me, and I ordered
the boatman to row still more quickly. I was
ready.
Was I not as safely and well cared for
in the great town as in the still country? - in
the street as on the sea?
In everything, everywhere, dwells PoetryLove - Tao. And the whole world is a great
sanctuary, wel1-devised and surely-maintained as
a strong, well-ordered ho~.

Digitized by

Coogle

NOTES
1. p. 62. This is a fact.

Chinese priests are in the habit

of repeating Sutras which, to judge by the sound, have

been translated from the Sanscrit into Chinese phrases

of which they do not understand one word.
2. p. 64. The "Yellow Emperor" is a legendary emperor, who appears to have reigned about the year 2697 B.C.
3. p. 64. That which follows in inverted commas is an
extract translated from the twelfth chapter of the " Nan
Hwa King."
4. p. 65. The following passage, as far as the sentence
"and the Millions return again into One" is an adaptation - not a translation - of the first section of "TaoTeh-King." Laotsu's wonderfully simple writing cannot
possibly be translated into equally simple passages in our
language. This rendering of mine - arrived at partly
by aid of Chinese commentators - is an entirely' new
reading, and is, to the best of my knowledge, the true
one. One of the most celebrated, and, in a certain sense,
one of the most competent of the sinologues, Herbert Giles,
translates of this first section only the first sentence, and
finds the rest not worth the trouble of translatingl (compare
"The Remains of Lao TzU," by H. A. Giles, Honkong, China
Mail Office, 1886). This same scholar translates "Tao"
as "the Way," not perceiving how impossible it is that that
which Laotsu meant-the highest of all, the infinite-should
be a "way," seeing that a way
the figurative sense)
always leads to something else, and therefore cannot be the
highest. Another still more celebrated sinologue, Dr.

rm

113

Digitized by

Coogle

114

WU WEI

Legge, translates "Tao" 88 "Course," and out of the simple

sentence: "If Tao could be expressed in words it would
not be the eterna1Tao" he makes: "The Course that can
be trodden is not the enduring and UDchanging course."
The whole secret is this: that the sign or word "Tao" has
a great number of meanings, and that in Confucius's work
. "Chung Yung" it does 88 a matter of fa.ct mean "Way";
but in,a hundred other instances it me&n8: "speech expression, a saying." Laotsu having, in one sentence, used this
sign, in two different senses, nearly &ll tr&nsIators have
suffered themselves to be misled. The sentence is 88 simple
88 possible, and in two of my Chinese editions the commente.tors put: "spoken," and: "by word of mouth." But of
&ll the sinologues only WeDs Williams has transJated this
sentence well, namely thus: "The Tao which can be expresaed is not the eternal Tao." Although the construction
of the phrase is not a.ccur&te1y rendered, at any rate Williams
has grasped the meaning.
After my work had aJre&dy appeared in the periodical
De (}ids, I saw for the first time ProfeEOr de Groot's work
"Jaarlijksche feest.en en gebruiken der Emoy Chineeun,"
from which I gathered that he agreed with me in 80 far 88
to say also that "Tao" was untrauslatable - a SIlb-lyiDg
conception "for which the Chinese philosopher himself
could find no name, and which he consequently stamped
with the word 'Tao.''' Professor de Groot adds: "If one
translates this word by 'the universal soul of Nature,' 'the
&ll-pervading energy of nature,' or merely by the word
'Nature' itself, one will surely not be far from the philosopher's
meaning."
Although the term holds for, me something still hisher
yet I find ProfeEOr de Groot's conception of it the JDOBt
sympathetic of &ll those known to me.
S. p. 69. This "Wu-Wei" - untranslatable 88 it is
in fa.ct - has been rendered by these sinologues into

"m.

Digitized by

Coogle

115

NOTES
tJdion" -

88

though it signified idleness, inertia. It most

certainly does not signify idleness, however, but rather

tJdion, activity - that is to say: "inactivity of the per.

verted, unnatural p88IIiODS and desires," but "activity in
the aense of natural movement proceeding from Tao."
Thus, in the "Nan Hwa King" we find the following: "The
heavens and the earth do nothing" (in the evil aense) "and"
(yet) "there is nothing which they do not do." The whole
of nature consists in "Wu-Wei," in natural,. from-Taoemanating movement. By translating Wu~Wei into "inaction" the sinologues have arrived at the exact opposite
of the meaning of the Chinese text.
Laotsu himself does not dilate further upon the subject.
What follows here is my own conception of the text. The
whole first chapter of the original occupies only one page
in the book, and contains only fifty-nine characters. Ifi
testifies to Laotsu'. wonderful subtlety and t.eraeDa of
language that he was able in 80 few worda to 8&y 80 much.
- 6. p. 69. This sentence is VaDalated from the "TaoTeb-King" (chapter ii).
7. p. 69. From the 56th chapter. This sentence is
alao to be found in 15th chapter of the "Nan Hwa King."
8. p. 74. This I'WI8 80mewhat 88 follows in the 6th
chapter of the Nan Hwa King: "The true men of the early
&gel slept dreamleasly, and were conscious of aelf without care."
9. p. 76. This episode is translated from the 18th &eotion of the "Nan Hwa King." By the "Great House"
Chuang-TIe meant, of course, the universe, and this expreIIIIion "boWIe" lends to the puaage a touch of familiar
intimacy, showing Chuang-Tae to have the feeling that
the dead one W88 well cared for, 88 though within the abelter
of a bowie. - H. GUea, who reoders it "Eternity," which
does DOt appear at all in the ChiDeIe text, Ioaee by his translation the confiding element which makes ChuaDl-Tae'.
tpeeeh 10 touchiDc. (Compare "Cbuaq T.y," by H.

Digitized by

Coogle

116

WU WEI

Giles, London, Bernard Quaritch, 1889.} The actual words

are: "Ku Shih" - Great House.
10. p. 78. In almost all the temples is a chamber in
which the Mandarins lodge, and where Western travellers
may usuaIly stay for the night, and probably for longer
periods.
11. p. SO. The following, to ~ end of the sentence:
"Poetry is the sound of the heart," has been translated
by me from a preface by Ong Giao Ki to his edition of the
Poetry of the Tang-Dynasty. Ong Giao Ki lived in the
first half of the eighteenth century.
12. p. 89. The Chinese do really preserve their treasures
in this careful manner. It is usual for an antique figure of
Buddha to lie in a silk-lined shrine, the shrine in a wooden
chest, and the chest in a cloth. It is unpacked upon great

occasions.
13. p. 90. Such a figure 88 the above-described is not

a mere figment of the author's imagination - such figures

really exist. A similar one is in the possession of the author.
14. p.90. The Soul-Pearl "DurmA."
15. p. 92. The figure in the author's possession is by
Tan Wei. Another great artist was Ho Chao Tsung, of
certain figures by whom I have also, with very great trouble,
become possessed. These names are well known to every
artist, but I have endeavoured in vain to discover anything
nearer with regard to them. They became famous after
death; but they had lived in such simplicity and oblivion,
that now not even their birthplace is remembered. One
hears conjectures, but I could arrive at no certainty.

Digitized by

Coogle